Sanctuary
by Nijimi Daiquiri
Summary: It is a place where your sins are punished, and you may only leave once you have seen the truth. America was walking on the thin line between sanity and insanity. Japan watched from above, with a guilty smile plastered on his lips. Ameripan, SH reference. TEMP. HIATUS. CURRENTLY EDITING.
1. Chapter 1

Sanctuary

Chapter 1

Darkness. It surrounded his being in its shrouds, wrapped so precisely, it choked even his thoughts. He struggled against the hold, ripping the cloak off his ocean blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, "What's going on?" His eyes roamed around the room, wondering where he was, the room was doused with blood and grime, covering everything, the chairs and other furniture were strewn about, looking like they were put through hell and back. He stood up slowly, checking the way this room was decorated, covered in crosses, with heinous drawings of death, and cruel sayings carved into the walls, "...Where the hell am I?" He looked up towards the large hole in the wall, providing the only dim light source.

There were small flakes of snow pouring down from the ceiling, he reached out to grab the little specks, and crunched them in his hand...ash? Why was there ash coming from the outside? He looked up again to see the dark, clouded skies, looking as if dead. He went towards a boarded window, trying to look outside, only to see an abandoned street and a few cars covered in the same dark substance, abandoned just like the town.

Turning around he spotted an unturned desk and quickly walked over to the untouched desk, finding a white note, looking as clean as diamonds. Picking it up, he scanned over a name written in cursive on the nicely decorated letter. It was in a foreign language he couldn't read.

"Alfred...remember this place?"

He turned around, "Who's there?" No response.

He sighed a bit nervously, running a hand through his hair, "I'm fucking hallucinating now." He turned back to the note, focusing his attention on opening it; he ripped off the top, shaking out the contents on his hand. A clink and thud caught his attention, "Oh shit, I dropped something."

Kneeling down to catch what fell out of the note, he looked closely, examining what it was...it looked familiar...he reached out his right hand to grab it and stumbled back, horrified at the sight. They were fingers, more precisely -he looked at his hand, and screamed at the sight- _his_ fingers.

He clutched his hand, looking at the bloodied stubs where his left pinky, ring, and middle finger used to be. His breaths were getting more rapid, and his eyes were dilated to an abnormally small size, "M-my-my-" His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he landed with a crunching thud on the floor, unconscious.

"Hey-hey, Alfred. Get up, come on sleepy-head!" A light hand was shaking his shoulder, trying to awaken him from his dream.

"Wha? Whozzat?" The American tried blocking the light coming into his eyes and waved the figure away, "J-just a few minutes, Kiku...Imkindslppy..." His sentence was stopped by light snores, before a figure hit him on the head.

"Alfred you have to wake up! Really...you should stop playing so many video games late at night. It messes with your sleep." The chocolate-eyed man held a stern look on his face while scolding the other, "Nothing good comes out of it! This is the last time, Alfred F. Jones. I'm setting a time limit on your game."

That got the American up, "What? No! Aww, come on Keeks, why? I'll sleep earlier!"

"Four in the morning is NOT a valid time!" He responded harshly.

"...Damn it..." Alfred sulked, watching the Japanese man turn on the PlayStation 2, heading towards options and setting the parental control, "That makes me feel like a little kid..."

Said Japanese man glared, "Then stop acting like one." The American put on his puppy eyes, looking straight at Japan as if he had kicked him, making the other feel bad, "...America...ugh...fine, but only for today! If you sleep so late again I _will_ put the time setting on."

America had jumped up and hugged the shorter nation, "Aww, thanks Keeks! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I love you so much!" The other rolled his eyes, but blushed anyways and hugged the other nation close.

'I love you too, America.'

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

He opened his eyes and screamed, his voice was breaking but he continued chocking on the scream like he needed it. He stared at his hands, with all fingers in sight, he cringed and yelled, "What the fuck is going on?" Which echoed around the room like it was searching for an exit. Standing up from where he sat, he walked over towards the rotting, cherry wood door. Studying the intricate designs on it, until his eyes fell on a carving, he leaned over to read the letters more closely, "Don't...leave...the...room...what?"

He shrugged it off and gripped the handle, opening the door. He wasn't too shocked that the outside looked just as horrible as the inside, blood splattered on the floor and walls, the paint peeling off, and various random objects strewn about. It gave the long, narrow hallway a rather creepy vibe, almost as if telling him to go back. As soon as he stepped out of the room, strange noises could be heard from the end of the hallway, almost like...groaning? He slowly walked over to the end; the stretch seemed as if he wasn't getting an inch closer.

Every time he took a small step, the noise echoed, which made it seem like someone was trailing behind him. Beginning to near the edge, he suddenly heard a startling voice,

'America, go back into the room!'

He made the mistake of turning and yelling out, "Who's there?" Because no later than he said that a figure came walking into the hallway, it's skin was a pale color, the veins showing past the rotting skin, it was stumbling around, not able to see from looking straight down, it was dragging it's long, deformed arms behind it.

Groaning, it stopped stumbling with its non-existent feet, finally looking up when it was a few yards away from Alfred, who was frozen in fear. As soon as the thing raised its head, Alfred stopped, not able to look away from its white, bloody eyes and its smile spreading from ear to ear...quite literally, there was a large gash running across its face, stitched together horribly, making the monster look more terrifying than it was, "O-oh god." He whimpered.

It was trudging towards the American, very slowly it dragged itself to walk towards the frozen man, gasping and groaning along the way. Until it suddenly stopped below and open surface of the wall, all its movements were slow, even as it reached up at the large, gaping hole in the wall.

'Alfred, please go back in the room!'

"Who the hell are you?" He turned towards the room where the voice came from, but saw nothing and quickly turned back towards monster, "Fuck, It's planning something..." Looking around the abandoned hallway, he found a sharp, metal pipe gutting out of the wall and quickly tried pulling it out when he heard a loud crack. He turned around to face the monster again, who was hanging by the wall- looking him over with an expressionless face besides that forced smile, it started to swing...back and forth, back and forth, until it's pace sped up, it jumped and clung to the next leverage, swinging itself closer to Alfred.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

'Fuck it was fast!' Using more of the strength he had he yanked the pipe out and swung it at the rapidly approaching creature, only to miss it by a few inches. He turned back, swinging it again and hitting its target on the head, effectively marking a hole in her scalp, "...I-Is it dead?" That answer was quickly answered when it sprang up from its daze, opening its mouth to an inhuman size, showing off its massive, razor sharp teeth lined in rows all the way to the back, letting out a sharp, high scream before attempting to engulf the meal, missing by a fraction and only grazing the meat, "Shit!" The American clutched his arm, and lunged at the thing with his pipe, stabbing it in the chest, when it didn't even seem to notice something was _impaled_ in it.

Alfred pulled back the blade and plunged it forward, again, and again, and again, and again, until he saw the creature fall, it's chest still heaving harshly from being stabbed many times. Her eyes quickly looked at the American, the blood red veins highly exaggerating its rage towards the man.

Alfred thought he was done with the thing when it suddenly stood, and swung it's large claw-like appendage at him, impaling him in the stomach. He looked down, then back up at the creature with an unreadable expression on his face, "B-but...I'm supposed to be the hero..." The female monster looked at him- showing a bit of sadness, but it was quickly done when it truly smiled, and dragged the claw out, then back, impaling him twice, "H-hero's aren't...supposed to...d-die." The thing seemed to take satisfaction in this, laughing at him. America closed his eyes, facing the darkness again, but this time forever.

'You idiot! Why don't you ever listen?'

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

America quickly backed away from the hug, fearing for his life, "Get away from me!" He shoved whatever was in front of him away in a blind panic.

"A-Alfred, it's just me! Are you alright?" Kiku took a few steps closer to the scared American.

"I said back off!" He grabbed the nearest thing he could and swung. Hearing the crash of glass and blood spilling to the floor, he walked over towards the person he just hit. Kiku moved a bit, and groaned, earning him a stomp from the delusional American, "Why won't you die?" He quickly grabbed his pocket knife and plunged it into the suffering Asian, "I won't die now!"

-=::..::*(Skip)*::..::=-

The men downstairs had heard the screams and loud noises from upstairs, England stood, worrying about the commotion, "Excuse me, I think there's something happening up there. I'll come back in a moment." As England walked away, the others stood; trailing after him. Arthur rushed up the windless stairs, to the American's room where Kiku was sent to awaken him for the next meeting, 'What the bloody hell could have happened?' As he reached the handle and swung the door open, something was slammed against the door, "America, open this bloody door!"

"I won't die now!"

England was taken aback, startled, 'What had Kiku done?' He forced the door open and heard a row of gasps as the others finally caught up. England looked down at the mess, and back up at the victoriously smiling American.

"I did it, Iggy! I killed it! Now I won't die!"

-=::..::*(Skip)*::..::=-

"A-America..." The Asian looked up at his lovers eyes, whose we're clouded with fear, "S-stop-" Another plunge of the knife and he was left seeing red, the American quickly picked him up and threw him towards the door with a monstrous strength. Right as he had done that England walked in, with a row of people covering their eyes at the sight of the dead nation, whom the American was convinced was the monster he had seen.

"I did it, Iggy! I killed it! Now I won't die!" He shouted with a blood covered smile.

England took a step back, horrified at the sight, "A-America...what the bloody hell did you do?" He ran towards the fallen Nation, barely alive and quickly losing a lot of blood, "Somebody call an ambulance!" He was pushed away by the hallucinating American, who grabbed the small male's body and threw it to another side like a rag doll, "Be careful with those Iggy! They can kill you!" He walked towards Arthur; trying to embrace him with his blood covered self, but before he could fully reach the Nation, an iron punch was thrown at him, knocking him out.

"Mon-cher, what happened?" The French looked over at the scared Englishman, who was shaking from what had just happened.

"I...don't know France...I...don't know." He had sat back against the wall, covering his tears behind his arms.

China ran towards his brother after he had punched the superpower of the world, "Japan! Japan, speak to me! Japan!" He shouted, shaking the other lightly, "Oh no, p-please don't die..." He whimpered, cradling the other in his arms, letting the blood run down his own arms, soaking the shirt.

China quickly took it off and wrapped it tightly around the previous wounds of the atomic bombings, "M-my, Kiku...-he sniffled, the tears running down his face- Wǒ dí gēgē...Please don't leave me..." He clutched the nation close while laying him on the ground, "My brother..." When he felt the others breath stop he cried out loud, "Why? Please don't leave me! Please..." He knew it was futile- but he didn't want to believe it. Not him…not Kiku.

Everyone but Italy, who went to call the ambulance, looked at the sight in sorrow. England and France had gone downstairs, while everyone was left to stare at the American nation on the ground. Germany walked over to the obviously insane nation as he stirred, glaring down at him before grabbing him by the collar, "Why did you do it?" He barked loudly.

Alfred looked at the German confused, "Do what?"

At this the German fiercely punched him, "How the fuck could you do this to your lover?" another punch, "He fucking loved you and you just kill him all of a sudden!" Another punch which had the other bleeding, "You just killed him without giving a shit!" another punch landed on the abused American before the German was pulled away by the large Russian who was quite shocked at what the American had done. It just didn't seem like him at all.

Now it was the unnoticed Canadian's turn to lift up his brother and carry him to a bed, leaving the Chinese man to cry over his loss. He wanted to turn and say he was sorry for what his brother had done, but he had heard the distinct sounds of the siren approaching and turned away lugging his brother next door onto his bed. Not to mention, just a simple sorry wouldn't have sufficed.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

He looked back at the room, where it led to the hall, "I'm glad I got away from that thing." He looked around once more, to see the room had changed; it was no longer doused in blood, more like...dust and ash.

'Listen to me when I tell you something! I had to do some unspeakable things to save you! Listen to me, America!'

He tensed up again at hearing the voice, bad things always happened when he heard that voice, "...Am I going crazy? Oh god, I hope not." He always heard the voice but could never see who said it...maybe it was in his head?

'No, you're not crazy...mostly. I am just your...help.'

"Then why do you treat me like that? What the hell do you want?"

'Do you not remember anything?' He asked, 'That hurts...I'm...a special person of yours.'

"Well, I don't remember your voice. I would have remembered you if I really knew you!"

'It's alright; I don't blame you, Alfred. But please listen to me when I say there's danger.'

America tilted his head to the side, "I actually want to know that, how do you know when they're close?"

'Oh, you'll find out eventually, Alfred. I've been waiting here for you ever since you left.'

America groaned, "Where is this place in the first place? I've never been here in my life!"

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but it's called Sanctuary. Like I said, you just can't remember, but you have- this place was just...different.'

"...What sick fuck calls this place Sanctuary? This place is hell!"

'Once again, you'll find out eventually. But for now, why don't I tell you a bit about what's going on?'

Alfred groaned, "Okay, I don't mind that but…can you show yourself in person or something? Because talking to a voice in my head while strange noises are coming from all directions isn't cool. I'm freaking the hell out."

'If that's what you want, but- please don't scream.'

A sharp light had engulfed his senses and drowned him in a bright, sea of luminosity. He brought his hands up to shield his eyes from certain blindness before it subsided and he looked up at the figure standing before him, right in front of him was a short, petite, young man. His eyes were a nice, chocolate color with hair as dark as night, and skin as pale as the moon.

"Sorry, Alfred. But I don't think I'll be able to show you what happened to me. I don't trust you." He stated boldly.

"What do you mean? Did something happen? Wait! Let me guess, I rescued you, right? Because I'm the Hero…wait, why don't you trust-?"

The previous voice the American was hearing looked a bit depressed before continuing, "If that is what you want to call it, Alfred. But first let's get started on this." He spoke, completely ignoring the last question, "This place. Is what you want it to be. It is both a heaven, and a hell. There can't be a place of perfection in the world, you know, Alfred? With all that war and violence. This is called 'Sanctuary'. It is a place where your sins are punished, and if you confess, you will be able to leave, only as long as you have seen the light."

He continued to speak after the short pause, "Remember that monster? That's one of the punishments, and whatever is out there also represents your fears and darkness. That one, was the fear your sins would come back at you, the legs were cut off from your fear of being left behind, the long, dagger like arms were your fear of staining your hands with blood, which is what that creature uses to kill. The blindness is you wanting to be able to see your future, the forced smile is from your depression where most of the happiness you had was faked.

Alfred scoffed, "How would this place find out?"

"...Oh, you shall see. But whenever I can, I'll help you. It does come at a price though."

"What's the price?"

"...Eventually you'll see. You won't be out for a while, so be patient."

"Why does everything come later? Is it some sort of rule you can't tell me?"

"Yes...In a way."

He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair again, "Alright, I got the monsters, and place, lets continue."

"Alright, here's a little info on the more things that you will see in time."

"There are more?"

"Yes, you have many fears, and in this place all your fears will come true." He watched the American glance around nervously, "But there are certain safe spots and times don't worry. The safe places will be marked with a note written by me, where you are supposed to write what has happened so far. Now, as for the time, when you head outside there will be a siren, an air raid siren- it warns you when the other side is coming."

"Other side?"

"The...more gruesome monsters and the darkness in you. Please stop interrupting, anyways, this happens at random times, mostly when you're struggling, this place wants it to be so you die here. So please, be careful once you're outside...and in the deeper parts of buildings. You have to go into many dangerous places, solving strange, unsolvable riddles that seem to not make sense, but in the end those are what get you out of Sanctuary. You must remember the wrongs you've done and compensate for them, or else you'll never be able to leave, you have to face the things you deny to yourself and admit it." He stated gravely.

The American nodded, understanding a bit, but not quite sure why he's here. He hasn't done anything wrong has he? He also didn't want to face anymore of those things, "Hey, is that thing dead? I don't remember much."

"Actually, it killed you. I told you not to go out there yet, not to mention you're actually supposed to get out through the hole, you're not supposed to enter there unless you absolutely have to. Since that's the underground, the creatures that must absolutely not see daylight are in here, many different more as well. So do what I say, understand? Good."

"Wait...SO I HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE?" He screeched.

"Well, at least it's a bit light out...to find the flash light you're going to have to go into pitch black buildings. That's not so fun."

"...So I'm dead?"

"No, but someone is. I'm telling you that the actions of you dying here and me saving you come at a price. A life for a life, no?"

Alfred stared wide-eyed at the Japanese man in front of him, "W-who's dead?"

"...You'll find out eventually. But, for every meaningful monster you kill, that wasn't supposed to be killed. _Their equal will also die. By your hands that is."_

"...Oh god no, who is it? I have to know now!" He clutched the nation's shoulders in a harsh grip, scaring the other, "TELL ME IT'S NOT ANOTHER NATION!"

Kiku flinched and tensed up, _"L-let go of me_!" But his struggles were to no avail.

"Not until you tell me! I can't live with the thought of killing-" His vision was suddenly blocked by a sudden blurry movement and he found himself outside, facing a handful of deformed, armless, faceless monsters, "What just happened?" He hissed, quickly running past them before they could do much, but spray a dark, burning material at him, "Shit!"

He quickly ran around stores, past less of the same being, quickly heading down the road where he thought he could escape, "I must be getting closer to the exit." Soon he was only surrounded by fog and not able to see a hand in front of him, leaving him to sigh frustrated, "Crap, I can't run like this!" He was slowly walking forward, arms reaching out ahead of him, trying to feel for anything he could run into.

Scriiiiiitch.

Scriiiiiitch.

Scriiiiiitch.

"What's that?" He turned around and all he could see was that he had not moved an inch from the town, "What the hell is going on?"

_'I told you, you cannot leave this town until you resolve your sins. Also, I suggest you run to your left, down MapleRidge Street."_

"That reminds me of my brother. But I'm definitely going!" There he ran, having learned from his previous mistakes of disobeying the voice in his head. He stopped and thought for a moment. Well, that made him feel _much_ better. As he ran the screeching sound of whatever it was dulled, "Why didn't you tell me you basically _can't_ leave?"

"...I expected you wanted to be a hero."

"...Being a hero sucks now." He stopped running, slowing to a walking pace until he suddenly heard the loud; long groan of the siren, "Holy shit, you were right!" But after that he didn't receive a response. "...Hello?" He was only met with the horrifying moan of the siren, and the whole world was turning dark, "What the hell?" When the sky darkened to nearly nighttime in three seconds America was thoroughly creeped out at this town, "What country is this in? Can I nuke that country?"

He still received no answer, but jumped when the ground suddenly started to change, so did the rest of his surroundings. Everything was changed from an old abandoned place to a more horrifying hell. The streets turned to bloodied concrete with bodies strewn about, the walls revealed the same thing but with more grime and unknown substances dripping along them. He cringed at how disgusting the city looked, it seemed like it came from some sort of messed up nightmare.

A sudden bang came from a door of an apartment, he looked over, not wanting what was the inevitable to be there, but this place really did hate him, because a monster crawled out, it was slightly transparent, dragging it's entrails on the floor, having long blade fingers to help it cling to surfaces in order to move. This one had hair as well, more human like features, but the strange way this creature moved and cracked every time it did so made the other think otherwise...now that he thought about it, it looked sort of like a..."g-ghost."

He meeped, and looked around quickly before the creature noticed him, he made his way to one of the dead bodies that looked strangely like him and grabbed a pipe it held, "Why am I only finding pipe's?" When he felt something long slithering around his legs he looked down to find the creatures tongue wrapped around his ankles, "Gah!" He bashed the pipe against the figures head, to no avail, "GET OFF!" He tried to get away, but fell instead. Luckily this gave him a clear view of something he didn't see before. There was a caged heart thumping in the creature's chest, looking very visible, very _real_. As soon as he saw this opening he slammed the metal pipe right into the black, beating heart. But that was when he noticed something strange about the figure.

"...B-brother?"

The figure just lay there, dead at the feet of Alfred, "Oh god...oh god, nononononono...oh please don't let it be Canada. Fuck! Oh god..." He lifted the figure's head, looking at the indescribable features, but the hair, it was exactly the same. "How could I notice this just now?" Sure, the thing had a face marred beyond recognition, but the hair was the same!

'Because fear can make you do things you might not mean to do.'

...That was definitely not the last voice, this one sounded more sinister and mocking, "Okay who are you?"

It chuckled, "I'm the same guy...just different personality."

"Are you purposely trying to fuck with my head? Show yourself dammit!" No sooner than he said that a figure appeared out of the dead body in front of him, he looked exactly like the other one, but with blood red eyes and an evil aura around him.

He looked down at the body and smiled, "Hey...loon...guess who's dead now?"

America looked down where the other was looking, Canada...he just killed his own brother...his _brother. _In real time, he had surely killed him; but he also killed the nation. The _people_.

With a psychotic laugh the red-eyed figure left, leaving behind a broken soul. That was the American's realization, "When you kill people here, the equal of this thing's body dies too...wait a moment." When the American came to another more shocking realization he clutched his head in his hands, curling into a ball on the floor, shaking in utter disbelief.

"_Their equal will also die. By your hands that is."_

"Oh god no...C-Canada...Mattie..." His tears were running down in a messy form, blurring his vision, "Mattie...Mattie I'm so sorry." He stood up quickly once he heard a noise come from the polar opposite of the brother he just killed. But when he saw it coming it was too late, the large claws of it were impaled in his flesh, rooted deep within his right shoulder. The creature seemed to be laughing at him, 'Was Matthew still alive?' But when he saw the other hand go up, he stopped thinking.

_Splatter._

Blood.

His mouth was wide open, he stood frozen in the spot, the pipe was sticking right through the other side of the things face, but he was unlucky. The blood had spurted out towards his face, into his mouth where he could taste the almost black substance of blood. He gagged and chocked, hacking on the disgusting, black material, slithering inside his mouth and moving down his throat. Reaching towards his throat to stop the disgusting liquid, he nearly threw up; it was just so disgusting. He loudly and cried out one last time, before he fainted and met the concrete floor.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

"Get some restraints, mon-Matthieu. We can't have that happening again. We have to figure out what happened. I know America wouldn't do this." This time he was speaking to England, who was solemnly outside in the hall, not wanting to see Alfred's face yet.

"...I thought I knew him well..."

"I got the restraints, papa!" Matthew walked over towards his brother, placing them first on his feet. Not noticing the American move his arm, until when suddenly he felt an immense amount of pain jolt through his throat and stop his breath, "P-papa...help." He cried, reaching out for his father, who finally turned in shock.

"GET OFF!" The American's free hand drew the weapon across Matthew's throat, quickly slitting it, watching him fall, "That one was easy." He whispered breathlessly, a psychotic smile on his face as his body shook from having witnessed more of the monsters around him.

"MATTHIEU!" France ran over to his fallen son, who quickly died. Not even having a last breath before his own brother slit his throat, "MATTHIEU. Mon Dieu, Matthieu, open your eyes!" France ripped a piece of cloth off his sleeve in an attempt to stop the blood, "No, M-Matthieu...oh, Matthieu..." He watched his beloved son's shock filled, amethyst eyes, quickly hazing over, not having the chance to see another day, "..." Francis stayed silent, watching his son leave this world- you should never experience that pain, it tears you apart from the inside- thinking you had failed your son. He turned towards the psychotic nation, hate swirling around in those light blue, crystal clear eyes, "Alfred..."

"..." The American just sat watching in front of him, as if a movie was unfolding before him.

"Alfred." Francis spoke again.

The other stayed still, seeming like he didn't hear a word.

This time the Frenchman walked over to his son, far enough away from the blade, "Alfred I'm speaking to you!" He demanded with more authority.

Whiz.

Squelch.

The knife had flown right into his mouth mid-sentence. He choked on it, and tried pulling it out to no avail, he coughed and sputtered, the blood draining down his throat, suffocating him. Clutching his throat he fell to the ground, the blood pooling around him in a large crimson color as he struggled to breathe and live.

England stood watching from the doorway, his hands covering his nauseated mouth. When he heard the medics come upstairs he screamed at them to call the cops before being met with a harsh slap into reality, as he let out a breath and fell back, unconsciousness taking over.


	2. Chapter 2

Sanctuary

Chapter 2

America opened his eyes; appearing unconscious on the ground until he sat up, "Go away!" He screamed at nothing, before relaxing and looking around for something, "H-hey! Voice, where are you?" The street looked calm enough, still creepy and deserted, but better than when the siren rang, "Umm..." He stood up and started walking around, "Hey, K-Kiku, right? Why don't you answer?" The fog drifting along the cold, desolate town's floor looked like it was hiding something, Alfred started to jog around a bit, looking through buildings, walking down streets to find them blocked by walls splattered with blood, "What the hell's up with this town?"

As he walked toward the wall he saw that the blood read something, "...this writing- it's practically unreadable..." He closed up to the shrouded wall, squinting through his glasses, "Running, hiding, begging, crying, dying...it doesn't do anything to help you escape this demented heaven." America glared at the word used here, 'heaven', as far as he knew, heaven was a glorious place. Not this.

He punched the wall; the brute force of it caused a loud bang and an explosion of ash and debris being sent into the air, "Uck!" He rubbed his eyes from the various materials spewed at them, his bare hands were furiously trying to wipe away the dust in his vision, "Gah, I shouldn't have done that!"

After a few more attempts he managed to restore his sight without it burning and looked straight at the wall he had punched. There was a hole, a large hole, big enough to fit something through it, something like the monster staring at him through the portal, it's body was small, like an infant- but it wasn't anything like an infant, it had gray, bleeding skin. Its head was there, but it was twisted along with its warped neck to a disturbing unreachable angle to the left, seeming to be dead- but it was just silent, not able to hear, scream, or see, he didn't know Alfred was there. It just let its deformed stomach bloat out, dragging onto the floor, looking like a mess of chopped up meat and organs with a vile pulsation to it.

Alfred stared, his face showing all the disgust towards the creature, he was cringing in a way that looked like he was about ready to throw up. After a few seconds of the uncanny silence, he opened his mouth, and let out an aeration of screaming, sounding worse than any horror flick you would ever see.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Alfred burst up from the chained down bed, screaming bloody murder, he shook the bed, "Kiku! Kiku, where are you?" The chains holding him down were shattered into pieces as he pushed through them like air. The rest of the now G-5 members rushed into the room; it had been a few hours and they were barely getting over the shock of what the insane American nation had done. But now they had the shock of seeing him struggle, screaming for Kiku, making China wince and break down into tears while the rest watched the American, asking for the same person he killed.

"...Alfred." Spoke England, making the other look at him with a wary expression, "Alfred, what's wrong with you?" He took a step closer to the American who was backing away in fear of the monster, "Why would you do this?"

"...Monsters...everywhere." He leaned back against the wall, dragging himself down into the fetal position, "They want to kill me...and Kiku isn't helping anymore...he just mocked...and the monsters...they're everywhere...I can't escape..." By now he was crying in front of the world, "I can't leave...I can't l-leave and I have to s-stay there...forever...until- until I...I don't know..." He looked at the nation with begging, crystal blue eyes, "Oh gods...please help me Iggy..."

England looked at the country in a sad, guilty way, while the rest looked at him as if he were just crazy, "...what monsters, Alfred? There aren't any monsters."

"Sanctuary...sanctuary..." He was slowly rocking back and forth, trying to calm himself in his rushing mind.

"But..." Arthur looked confused at what the other had said, "...you had said there were monsters...no sanctuary would harm you."

"...Running...hiding...begging...crying...dying...it doesn't do anything...to help you escape...this demented heaven." He looked back up at England, "That's what the dead guy wrote on the wall with his own blood...and when I punched it- there was another monster...it was all deformed and- and..."

"It's alright, Alfred...you don't have to talk about it." Said Arthur as he walked closer to the huddled nation.

"But...Kiku...he just left me...I was attacked and killed- but when that happened- he saved my life by forcing me to kill someone here..." He sprang up, startling the nations, "Oh god! England...I killed-!" America went into a sudden convulsion, "G-GO AWAY! OH GOD- PLEASE HELP ME!" He ran around, looking for a way to get out of the room, "They'll get me! They're right behind me- please save me!" His hands clutched at the Englishman's clothes, holding him for dear life, "Where's Kiku? Where's Kiku?" He yelled in broken up chokes while sobbing.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

As soon as Alfred let out that scream, the monster blurred out of reality, startling the nation, "What? Oh god...what was that?" He looked around, completely baffled at what just happened, "Shit doesn't just disappear!" He turned back towards where he heard a loud noise, but quickly turned back to the wall. There was no hole there, "...What?"

Scriiiitch.

Scriiiitch.

Scriiiitch.

He turned around to face the foggy floors of the town, "Oh god...Kiku help me- please help me!" The only way out of the narrow street was by going towards the sound of the scratching noise, "...I'll be fucking crazy if I went in that direction..." But he knew he had no choice, before the sound could come any closer he dashed away from the street called 'Maple Ridge'. Leaving behind the nightmare of the child he had left behind, as well as the fading noise, "What the hell, why is there still things roaming around?"

He hurriedly ran down the streets, by various stores and even passing a strip club with a faded neon sign. When he thought about it, this looked like any abandoned, regular town...but he knew there was much more to this, the cars were parked- no sign of evacuation or panic, everything seemed to be calm, except for- "...the ash...why _would_ there be ash here?" He looked around, trying to see if there were in fact any volcanoes that may have erupted- "But that would have caused a mass panic, and they would have been evacuated before it blew..." He kept pondering over the ash as he slowly walked down the street.

"...maybe it was something else? An underground fire? No...It looked like it had been abandoned for much longer than a fire would hold out, and there aren't any toxic gases that I can smell..." Alfred walked passed a television station and he walked passed it slowly, slower, stop, "...A television station...I could call for help." He went by the door, only to find it locked, "Shit!" He hissed, struggling with the knob, "Damn door- won't fucking open." He growled out as he pulled on the wooden door, "Ugh..."

He gave up, looking for any other entrances; his eyes looked at a far corner of the store, another door! As he ran towards the corner, a loud rickety noise was heard scraping along the floor. It sounded like the sound you make when you're dragging old wheelchairs along the ground, Alfred stopped immediately, looking for any monster- or the chair, he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, "...Maybe I'm just imagining it..."

Creeeeeak.

Creeeeeak.

Creeeeeak.

But as he got closer towards the door, the noise kept getting closer as well; to the point where it began to echo in his ears. Alfred was starting to get scared of the noise coming from- seemingly nowhere, but when he saw a shadow approaching him, he looked for something to defend himself with. There was nothing but the abandoned streets of the town.

The slowly moving shadow got closer, and the heartbeat of the American got quicker. The shadow moved slowly towards him, with a squeaky screech all the while, it came closer, and closer, frightening the man even more than he already was. America quickly ran towards the car he had seen from across the road, about to pick it up- before something crawled out from under it, making the other man yelp, "Fuck!" He jumped back from the scurrying figure that returned under the car, alright, don't get close to cars. As he saw the figure approaching, he noticed there weren't any legs moving, and it didn't even look human...it looked more like, "...No, that's not possible..."

As if wanting to prove him wrong, an old, dirty, blood covered wheel chair appeared out of the haze, slowly making it's constant speed right past the American, who looked at the chair as it slowly headed away from him, it creaked with that same scraping sound, making the American a bit afraid of it, there was nothing on it, nothing pushing it, and the hill sloped up, not down. He backed up quickly, away from the haunted chair that made a sudden stop; Alfred hoped it didn't see him. The chair turned around slowly, each creak resounding through the empty sanctuary as it turned towards a deathly pale American, "G-ghost." He meeped out softly, before running close to the store, wheel chair just sitting in the middle of the street very eerily, as if staring at nothing.

When he ran into the door, forcefully pushing it open, he slammed it loudly behind him, placing a random stray desk in front of it, "Fucking shit...that was terrifying..." He turned back into the dark station he wanted to communicate through, walking past the dusty mess of scrambled, bloody papers; when he noticed the window being covered in newspaper with something on the wall that wasn't normal, he shifted uncomfortably, staring at the blocked window and what was on it, "...Why is everything in blood?" He questioned as he walked towards it a bit warily, eyeballing the area around him to make sure there we're not any monsters nearby, he walked closer to the writing, "My sins...they brought me here, the place where I entered life and lived as a child. The place where I leave life and die as a child."

Alfred paid no mind to it; he shrugged it off, thinking it wasn't that important. He walked over towards the radios on the left side of the wall, "No, I need some sort of...thingy...signal thingy...what were they called again?" He gave up the name and walked around, searching for the broadcasting station, he was walking around the large building, before finally stopping at a reporter's desk, "Oh! Here- I can try to get a message to the guys!" He started to hook up all the dusty wired to the camera, making sure everything worked, aiming the camera just right, ensuring himself the sound was on, he switched it on, to see it had a strangely full battery, "Whoa...that's weird. I would've thought it had been dead."

He stood in front of the camera, switching the broadcast on, sending it to the G-8 member's current location, hoping it worked, and that the others had a TV on, he got in front of the rolling camera, frantically trying to see if it was actually working, and trying to assure himself that they would get his message and come get him out of this fucked up place, away from the damn voice that led him to kill his brother.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

"...America...don't worry, it's going to be alright, why don't we play some video games to cheer you up, huh?" England smiled at the shivering nation, who was crying on his clothes like a child.

"I...I don't know...I just don't want to die yet, I want to be a hero...I want to live for my people and get the hell out of Sanctuary." He mumbled as his back was caressed by his former caretaker.

"Come on, I'm sure video games will take your mind away from this...thing you're talking about." England walked past the staring nations, glaring at them as if telling them not to judge Alfred, and that he knew more about this. Arthur pressed the TV's power button, springing the plasma to life, but was quickly met with static, "Bloody hell!" England started to curse at the TV, switching it to another station, where he saw a room that looked horribly cared for, "What the hell is this?" As he stared at the screen he saw a figure coming into view.

Everyone gasped, it was Alfred. He looked horribly pale, covered with ash and blood, a scared, traumatized expression on his face as he started speaking to the camera, his face so close it was the only thing you could see, "Guys...please be looking at this...please be looking at this..." The American had started off his sentence with an accidental repeat as the camera glitched and replayed his motions, "I'm stuck..." It sounded like a bunch of static for a second as he spoke, then it stopped as he vanished, before quickly appearing right in front of the camera again, "help me- help-" It was met with the scratching sound of static again before starting a bit fuzzy again, "Sanctuary- voices- monsters..." It had stopped on his sentence, making it static more than before, it had seemed the message was done, but he had disappeared again, now he was by the back of the room, leaving him exposed for them to see.

"...Doitsu! H-his back!" Screamed Italy as the large gaping hole in his midsection was showing almost every organ inside his body. Germany stood agape, horrified at the sight, before anyone else could say anything, he turned back towards the camera with a scared expression again, no hole, no injury, just as healthy as he was a minute ago.

"HELP ME! Please get me! Track the signal-" There was more static before everyone saw a ghostly figure where the American was looking at before, looking just like the same angelic Kiku over here.

Everyone was dumbfounded, Kiku was there too, and everyone started shouting at each other, whether they had seen him for a split second or not. The video cackled again, stopping everyone as the American was once again frozen, and there was the small Asian, but now he was right behind him, smirking at the camera knowingly, he chuckled evilly before his ghost consumed the video, "You can't get him." Said nothing in particular, "I'm getting him." stated the invisible voice again before a split second of a horrifying monster appeared where Kiku stood before and disappeared just as quickly.

"Guys, please help..." Begged the American, the video kept glitching and only showing parts of what the American did and said, "Some voice- Kiku, he's helping me but I can't hear his voice anymore!" The American's camera had glitched again, making his face blurred before turning it into a dark mass of mutilated skin and making everybody gasp.

"W-where's his face? It's gone- it's-"

Before long his normal expression had come back, "please..." He went around the room for a while, occasionally disappearing before reappearing suddenly in front of the camera, making the others yelp in surprise. He clutched the camera, "PLEASE. PLEASE COME SAVE ME!" He screamed at the camera, "SANCTUARY! IT'S SANCTUARY!" As he screamed into the camera, his appearance changed for a second, revealing a horrid image of the monster they had seen earlier, before leaving again. America started pacing around the room, when suddenly there were bangs at the door, Alfred's expression went into deep fear as the door was smashed open, and a monster that looked like it had been wrapped in its own skin walked over to the American. When the monster came towards him, he violently started attacking it with a random piece of wood he had found.

Everyone stared at the American, "What's going on? What's he attacking?" Everyone was looking at the crazed American hitting thin air, before vanishing and turning transparent, just like a ghost. When he finally killed the monster he ran back to the camera, "Help me!" screamed the eerie voice of the transparent American who was screaming loudly, making the static get louder before the camera finally shut off, leaving everyone in shock. The whole room was drenched in a deafening silence.

"What was that?" Spoke Germany first after the silence that overcame the room, everyone just looked at him, back at the TV and stared, not knowing what had just happened. England was the first to speak up out of the haze, looking over at the cowering nation on the floor.

"Kiku! It was Kiku, why won't he answer me? The monsters- they're close- so close- please help me!"

England quickly ran over, comforting the nation, barking orders at others, "You! Don't just stand there you bloody twat! Go trace that bloody signal! America is in danger and you're just there staring!"

Everyone looked at the nation England was comforting, Germany speaking first, "But...England...if that person in the video was America then who's that?" He pointed at the crying America look alike; they looked exactly the same, spoke exactly the same, and had the same thoughts and visions.

"..." England stayed silent, not knowing how to answer that, he looked at the German and shrugged his shoulders, "I seriously don't know." He went back to comforting the sobbing American, "I just want to know what's happening, why that America is over there, why Japan was in that video, why they can't remember him, and who is who." He looked at the crying nation in his arms, "I just hope he's alright."

Germany stared at them, being alone in the room while everyone else went to go track the signal, the feeling that American gave off was just...strange...it gave off a different vibe, "England...but he is still mentally unstable..." Said Germany, implying they should send him away.

He received a piercing glare from England, "Don't you dare ever imply that in front of me again, you damn kraut." England left the calmed nation in the room, before forcing Germany outside with him, "He's not, and I refuse to let him go there."

"Arthur, I know he's your son and all, but we have to lock him up before this gets out of hand- he's going to hurt more people."

"No, you don't understand!" Yelled a frustrated England, "This is America, but at the same time it's not. That one in the video was America as well, but he wasn't. It's hard to explain, but I think that...this just sounds so familiar from somewhere, the video he was broadcasting sent chills up my spine, and it gave off a weird vibe. So did Japan and both of the America's. It's strange, but I want to track where that signal is from so I can see if my suspicions are correct." He said with a fierce determination in his eyes.

The German man simply listened, "What do you mean England? You're not making sense, how could he be America and not be? It's just...not possible. I feel the vibe as well but, what suspicions?"

England looked away, "I can't explain it, it feels like he's dead but...he's still alive...like...maybe it's his mind stuck in a body or something, it's really hard to explain."

"...What about the suspicions?"

"...I can't tell you yet- not to mention you probably won't believe me." He waited until the other gave up and watched as Germany walked away, giving him a strange glance before walking out of the hallway to find Italy. Arthur sighed and looked at the dark corner of the hallway where his visit room was, "Maybe I have a book on it. I'm pretty sure it's just a doppelganger, but it could be more...I have to be careful with this." He whispered to himself as he walked towards his empty room.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

America was worried, 'What if they hadn't gotten his broadcast? What would happen?' He was freaking out, he really couldn't hide, and he couldn't run, nothing. You just end up back in this place, "No, no, I have to get out." He traced back towards the door, quickly running out of the building, out onto the streets and turned where the wheelchair was, it had apparently waited for him, it was rooted in the same spot, almost as if it wanted him to, "...do you...want me to follow you?" The chair didn't respond, and the American almost hit himself, of course a fucking chair can't respond, what are you, a retard? After his little argument he slowly walked over to the chair, it still wasn't moving, maybe he had imagined it?

Crash.

It had flipped over, the wheel spinning on its axis, before he heard the horrifying sound of the siren ring. It was loud, and sinister; alerting him of evil, "Damn it!" He picked the chair upright, wondering if it was okay before the chair had started moving down the hill, "...I probably shouldn't have let it go." All his thoughts were quickly erased when the ground had started to peel again, the buildings looking hellish and frightening, things that shouldn't be there decayed into the ground, the soil moved away to show bones and rotting human flesh, it disgusted the American to even think about what he was walking on, he regretted saying that when he took a step forward and crushed something under his feet with a squelch. He quickly stepped back after stepping in whatever it was, but he had to be an idiot and look down at the pile of crushed intestines beneath him.

"This is fucking sick..." Alfred walked past the squishy substance and ran towards the next street over, checking to see if there was any form of exit on that side. He ran towards the street name, looking at it, memorizing it in case of future needs, "Alright, London Bridge. Got it." He ran into the street, taking notice that there were no buildings in sight, not even another car, just gates as he ran towards the end, his breath getting short, fog restricting his sight; he barely noticed a trailer parked on the edge of the street. Alfred had stopped and spent a while contemplating on whether he should go inside or not, but once he heard the jittery noises of the crawling thing under cars he ran in, not caring what was inside and locked the door behind him.

He flicked some sweat off his forehead before looking over onto the bed that was placed nicely at the back of the trailer, it kind of looked like there was someone sleeping there...America walked closer, slowly edging towards the sleeping mass on the bed, "Um...h-hello?" No response. He tried speaking up louder, "E-excuse me!" That was probably too loud, he thought as the figure almost jumped out of bed, but they did manage to knock themselves over the water bed with a loud thump.

The figure emerged from the blankets a bit wobbly, before looking up and glaring at the American, "Y-yes?" They said grudgingly.

Alfred was completely surprised, "Kiku! It's you- why haven't you been answering? I was like...almost killed!" Shouted the American, sitting next to the small Asian on the floor.

"Go away, you injured me! I thought I _could_ trust you- then you just attack me like that?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to hurt you...but, it was another country you know?" Alfred looked at Kiku with an apologetic look, "Will you please forgive me? I don't think I can go through this town without your help..."

Japan sighed and rolled his eyes, not wanting to give into the other he stayed silent. They stayed like that for a while before Kiku gave in, "Fine, but that doesn't explain why you're running around trying to get out. I've already told you countless times that it's impossible to escape, you have to admit your sins and pay for them in order to leave."

America grumbled, "But I don't want to be stuck in this shit hole. I have to live every second in fear and running." He grabbed some of the blanket from the other and huddled in close, "It's warm in here."

"Can you please move? You're too close..."

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." America scooted over a bit, making enough room between him and the Asian, "What's up with this place anyways? Whenever that damn siren rings, all this shit starts happening. The whole sky suddenly goes dark; the roads get covered in blood- and those things, just come out of nowhere, trying to kill anything they see moving, and not to mention there are some creepy ass noises…and that haunted wheelchair scares me."

"…Haunted wheelchair?" Japan tried to remember the monster, "Oh! The wheelchair…you might want to stay away from those. They can't die, but they sure as hell can kill you."

America shuddered, "But it seemed so harmless!"

"…They're possessed by evil spirits; nothing is good in here, not even your own mind." Kiku looked at the pale American, "You should be careful with this place, _you can't trust too many things, they might just kill you_."

Alfred just nodded, not thinking about the sentence the other country had said, "Alright, I won't trust anyone, but you have to help me get through this." He saw Kiku about to speak when a series of smashes against the side of the vehicle started to dent the grime covered walls in many different places, "What's going on?" He scooted a bit closer to the Asian.

"We have to get out."

"Get out? Are you out of your mind? We'll get killed out there!" He just watched Kiku smirk and take out a fine blade.

"We'll be just fine, here." He handed him a pistol, "It's loaded with rounds, here's a few more." He dropped them into the American's waiting hands, "Now we can go."

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

England scurried around his room, throwing things everywhere, searching every location he could think of finding that book, "Damn it! I could have sworn I left it here, where did I put it? I know I- Oh, there it is." He looked at the bed, quickly kneeling down and checking under the bed for the book, "There you are!" He snatched it up and smirked victoriously, now he just had to find out what was going on, this wasn't normal and he couldn't leave Alfred hanging. He had to get him before it was too late,

"Alright…let's see here, centaurs…no…not that either…no…alright! Here, doppelgangers. Ok, In Germany Doppelgangers often are perceived as a sinister form of bilocation and generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelganger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelganger is an omen of death. In Norse mythology, a _vardøger_ is a ghostly double who precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance. In Finnish mythology, this is called having an Etiäinen, ie. "A firstcomer". In Ancient Egyptian mythology, a "ka" was a tangible "spirit double" having the same memories and feeling as the original person. In a tradition of the Talmud, to meet oneself means to meet God."

He stopped reading it for a moment, "_To_ _meet oneself is to meet god_…this might not be what I think it is. To see another person's doppelganger is a bad omen of illness or danger, that's not good either." He looked at the Norse section again, "_precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance_." He shook his head, this couldn't be it, "Ka…_has the same memories and feelings as the original person_." That one might be it, this thing was dangerous, it was a bad omen. Did it mean someone was going to die next? England was reading more about the doppelganger, skimming through pages, "This can't be right…it says here they typically represent evil. This America-" He stopped in his tracks.

That America has killed people, and smiled about it. That America killed his family first, and smiled about it. That America was killing whoever has seen him, and he won't stop. That America was a doppelganger, he's definitely representing evil, but he wasn't so sure yet, "I…have to stop him, he'll hurt other people, I can't let that happen…" A quick crash made England look back, his spell book had fallen, but that wasn't the worst thing. He saw himself. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed himself, he was beginning to get very paranoid, but he kept reading, "How do I stop one? How do I stop one?" He skimmed through the page, "Alright…so I shouldn't harm one…it'll harm the other person as well…I…" His eyes widened,

"It's being controlled by someone, I have to stop the person who's controlling the doppelganger of America and free the doppelganger so it will stop killing others and disappear!" He smiled victoriously once more before picking up a small notebook and writing down all the information, "Good, good, I have everything written down, I just have to go tell the others first."

He placed the notes inside the black, crystal embedded book, placing the book under his arm and smirking to himself, he was running out of the room in a second, down the long hallway, passing various dim lights and the American's open room.

Wait.

The doppelgangers room was open. It was open and nobody has been here, or at least, he didn't think anyone was, "Um…A-America?" No response, "Come on, you git, this isn't funny." He didn't want to risk looking in the room, so he slowly started backing away, turning around and trying to run towards the others, but was stopped by a figure he had bumped into. He landed on his back and groaned, "Ow! You bloody wanker- watch where-" His emerald green eyes widened in fear, he was stopped mid sentence and his blood ran cold, "A...America."

The figure just smiled evilly, "Hmm...So now you're snooping into things that aren't your business." The figure scoffed, "You definitely deserve to die." He grabbed the Englishman by his collar and threw him against the wall, "You could have just stayed quiet and out of it, I understand what you guys planned to do all along. There's no way I'll let my country be destroyed by you guys."

"You're just a doppelganger! You're not the real thing!"

"What are you talking about? I'm the real thing...sort of."

England looked at him questioningly, "...sort of?"

America laughed, "Of course...I'm the real America...just not the body, and I am a sort of doppelganger. Can you guess what I do?"

"..." He stayed silent, not knowing what to say, "A Ka?"

The doppelganger just smiled menacingly, "Possibly, but I'm also a vardøger. I'm sort of like his soul, condemned to Sanctuary because of what I do in the future, and can you guess what I do?" He smiled.

England gulped, fearing for his life, "You kill us? You kill all of us?" He exclaimed in panic.

"Yes." He laughed at the others face, "But, I only did it because of something you guys did. Something that scarred me forever, something that I will never live down and never let go." He hissed.

"...What's that?"

"...You'll see in a bit, I'll let you live to see when it will sink in, but I'm taking your notes, back to where they belong." He jerked the notes from the other man's grip before quickly disappearing just as the other people ran into the hallway, looking at England who was on the ground, curled up into a ball. Everyone looked at him, wondering what happened to make him so scared.

"Um...I-Iggy...we have to talk to you about the signal." Said a worried Italy, looking at England sadly, "W-we should go into a room...ve?" He whispered quietly as the emerald eyed man rose from the ground.

England nodded, "A-alright, let's go back into the room you came from then." He told the others as he shakily walked ahead of them, entering the large meeting room before anyone else and looking at the large amount of equipment used to track the signal, "...So, where did the signal come from?" Everyone had stayed silent by the door, nobody breathing, just waiting for England to realize something, but he didn't.

Russia walked over, "...It's coming from here..." He looked a bit scared, "We even managed to record the video and replay it to see where he was, he was broadcasting from this room." He pointed at the camera in front of a desk, used to broadcast things to their people, or just to talk to their bosses, "It says it was coming from here, and at the same time..." He trailed off, wanting someone else to continue this.

Germany sighed, "It says it's not coming from anywhere. It has a signal, which says it's coming from this room, but not from this room, not from this world really. It just...says it's from here...maybe in some sort of altering universe? We really don't know, the signal can't be traced."

"...What?" England said confused, how could a signal be...from here but not? It's just like...the doppelganger, "...Please tell me you're not implying we can't find him."

Everyone was once again silent, except for China who was glaring intently at the floor, "We have to look for them, my brother was alive there, and I want to find my brother, I...I want to see him alive." His strong demeanor was breaking, but he didn't care much, "He...I actually loved him, he was the best brother anyone could ask for...he was almost like my kid. I want him back...alive and fine, like in the video...I want to see if this is just some sick joke or if it's real...either way I want to find its origins." He wiped away a lone tear from his cheek, "If it's a joke, I'm going to kill the sick fuck that did it. If it's not, I just want Kiku back..." There were more tears on his cheeks as he ran through his thoughts, but before anyone could respond he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

England was beginning to get what America's doppelganger had said..."Oh god no, guys we have to trace that signal! We have to trace it!" He yelled at the others who were shocked at his abrupt voice.

"We have! We've been trying several times; all of them came back the same! Nothing- it was almost like he was a ghost or something, the signal isn't coming from anywhere. It's just here, it won't tell us anything else, nothing. It just zeroes in on this place." Germany stated like it was a cold, hard fact that they couldn't get him back.

"No, no there has to be a way! I...I don't..." He stayed silent, fearing leaving anyone's side, "Please...just try once more and prove it to me that it isn't working." He was stalling; there was no way he was going back out there to face his own demise.

Italy whimpered and went with Germany up to the large computer screen, "E...England, we just have to press the search button again and wait a few minutes, is that okay?" Italy had on a nervous smile before a linking message popped onto the computer screen.

Searching for video number: - number can't be fully tracked.

Searching for video origins: ….- video can't be traced.

The computers just beeped and made England grieve, "Oh no, this- this can't be it, we have to find them! Can't you do anything else?" He walked over to the computer, smashing a few keys on the keyboard, wanting it to work, but all it accomplished was confusing the computer.

Searching for video message- Searching for video origins- Searching for video- Searching for video sender- Searching for video number- Searching for video signal- Searching for video-

It had stopped the combination of events taking place at once and instead showed the progress to others, making England have a small ray of hope, "L-Look guys! It's…its working! We might find America!" He started working on the computer, having Germany and Italy help him.

"Ja…I don't even know what you did, England…but it was smart."

"Smashing keyboards can be helpful."

"Ve~" Italy just sighed in relief, the tension filled atmosphere gone. He smiled, sitting behind a computer and continuing the searching, before a message popped up.

Message received. 

Everyone looked at Italy's screen as it popped up a different window, completely filled with static and the noises that came with it. It stayed like that for a few moments, just fizzing away on the screen, not changing patterns at all, it was a bit...frightening after a few minutes, "Erm...I-Italy, you should shut it down...it's obvious it's not working." Spoke Germany after five minutes of viewing the video.

Italy nodded, moving his mouse over to the red X about to exit the window, when all of a sudden the static got louder, and stopped. Showing a deep, dark brown eye, scaring the poor Italian in front of the screen, "GERMANY!" He was a bit scared to get out of his seat and make a run for it, but was nearly in tears when the eye started to look directly at them, the voice behind it chuckling slightly.

"Hello, Feliciano-kun." The screen had changed again, revealing the small Asian, perfectly clean and smiling, "What are you guys calling for?" He stood still, waiting for the other nation's response.

England, Germany, and Italy stood in shock, wasn't Japan supposed to be dead? How is he still alive? This can't be true, "Ah...J-Japan, h-how are you...still alive?" Answered England cautiously.

Japan just quirked his head to the side, making it almost seem adorable, "What do you mean 'dead'? I'm still alive..." He looked around the room, "But...it looks like I'm lost or something...I can't get out of this one room. Not to mention this voice- it keeps telling me not to get out..." He shrugged with a frown on his face, "Do you think you guys can help me?" He shifted closer to the camera without moving- startling the other guys, "Really, it's disgusting in here...covered in filth." The screen started to screech when the other nation came even closer, "Help me..." He smiled, "You're my friend's right? You wouldn't leave me to rot in here, right?"

The monitor was screaming now, almost like a warning, "V-Ve...but N-Nihon...we saw your body..."

The Japanese nation just laughed as if to say, 'of course, my body's right here.' Making everyone freak, "Look...Japan, this isn't possible, we saw your body- America had stabbed you with a pocket knife, you bled to death, and the blood is still there." England insisted.

"You guys are acting off, just come get me." He smiled.

England noticed what the others didn't, this Japan seemed different, not to mention, where did he get a camera from? Also, "I don't think you're Japan...you're different."

"I assure you- I'm the real thing."

"No, I don't think you are."

Japan looked hurt for a moment, "...How could you deny I'm your friend?" He took one more screeching step towards the camera, false innocence laced his face, "Please help me..." He smiled, "I might reward you with some sort of special gift if you can get me out of here."

Germany looked a bit baffled, "How are you...holding a camera...when you're dead and- how?"

"I'm not dead; please don't say such hurtful things."

"...Japan, I'm starting to think you're not really Japan...you seem a bit different."

"How can you deny me? I'm right here."

"...Because your location is in this room as well." Germany pointed at the screen, making the Asian nation turn to look.

"...Exactly." He turned around, malicious smile and evil glint on his features, "I'm right here." He stepped aside, giving them a perfect view of the room, showing a rusted, old version of the room they were in- Germany, England, and Italy sitting by the screen, staring at it. When they quickly turned around to see if Japan was there, it was shown it on the other screen as well, making them scared for a second.

Japan stood in the room, "Why won't you help me?" He walked closer towards the cowering nations, "I'm so close...and yet you won't help me...why won't you help me?" He had started to whimper now, slowly walking over to the shocked trio, solemn expression on his face, "Why? Aren't you guy's my friends? Why aren't you helping me? I'm right in front of you!" The louder he got, the more he looked like a malfunctioning hologram, "You're such selfish countries! Caring about nothing but yourself!" He was surrounded by static zooming across his body.

"J-Japan, calm down, Ja?" Yelled Germany, making the other cringe.

"...I thought we were friends..." He knelt on the ground, covering his face, "I thought...you guys really liked me..."

After listening to those heart wracking sobs of the lonely Japanese, they had started to feel bad about the crying nation, the evil intent gone, they felt a bit safer and worse for making him cry, leading Germany to walk towards him, "Japan...don't cry...we are, we're just..." He knelt down and tried to soothe the nation, ultimately making the mistake of trying to touch him, causing his hand burn a bit, "Ah!" He pulled it back, but regretted it when the other cried harder, "No...Don't cry...!"

"You...hate me..." He whimpered quietly.

"We don't hate you!" He wound his arms around the smaller man, embracing him tightly, "Don't think we're not your friends! We'll always be by your side..." He tried his hardest not to pull back when it burned stronger, so he just kept hugging the nation.

"Germany...why are you lying?" He choked back a sob.

"I'm not! I swear I will risk my life for you." He gritted out through the pain.

"G-Germany...how come you're being so kind?" He received no response for a second.

"Because I...was scared...you we're stabbed and...you were one of my closest friends..."

"I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" He didn't get a response, he didn't even hear the static increase in volume, the Japanese man looked up at him, tear filled eyes.

"For this..." He hugged the other back, making him scream. Japan wouldn't let go, even while the other was screaming in pain, while he was begging to be let go, trying to push away something he couldn't touch, he forced him to stay there.

"Shit, Japan get off! It burns- it-it's burning into my skin, please STOP!" He grunted at the increasing pain and volume of the static, "Japan!"

The elder nation still wasn't listening, but he drowned himself in Germany's body, his own melting into the others skin, eroding into nothingness onto the German, making the other writhe on the floor, before everything went silent and Germany stopped struggling, just laying there. No other nation in sight, just him on the cold floor lying down, eyes closed, with a pain filled expression on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Sanctuary

Chapter 3

Italy's eyes widened, and he screamed, "Doitsu!" Running over to him, he clutched onto Germany, pulling his body close, resting the German's head on his lap, "Doitsu, please be okay! Please don't be dead! I don't want you to die!" He turned towards England, eyes brimming with tears, "E-England…he's going to be okay right? Do you k-know what…Japan did?" He was holding the still German very close while looking at the stunned Englishman for an answer.

"I…I don't know Italy…I really don't know- but we might have to take him to the hospital, or at least the infirmary. I highly doubt they'll do much though." He looked over at the German resting on the Italian's lap, "I'll help you carry him over there until we can take him to the hospital- if you want to take him to the hospital that is." There was a moment of silence in the room before he watched the young nation nod his head.

"I…I don't want to send him to the hospital…when you send people to hospitals they usually die…" He sniffled, "I-I really don't want him to die…he…he's my best friend…"

England was staring solemnly at the two, his emerald green eyes glazed with confusion, "…I understand, Italy. I'm sure he won't die, he's a very strong nation." He smiled kindly at the whimpering nation and held out his hand, "Come on, we have to take Germany to the infirmary."

Italy paused again, before slowly clutching the nation's hand, lifting Germany up as well, "T-thank you, England…we have to hurry." He placed one of the German's arms around his shoulder, while England carried the other and groaned at the extra weight, "He sure is a heavy fellow, isn't he?" The island nation tried to ease what happened.

"…It's all the muscle…ve." Italy smiled sadly, the attempt not working much, "…England…what do you think is going to happen? Can't you find out what that Japan did? I know you have some magic books." He stopped walking Germany for a quick second before continuing, "Will you please look in your books?" A small, translucent tear ran down his face, softly dripping to the floor with a light patter, his auburn bangs covering his honey colored eyes, clouded with sorrow, "…please England."

England felt a pang of guilt, "Italy…" He would agree, but that thing had taken away his book, he had to find another one, and the doppelganger could have taken those too. With a sigh he answered, "Italy…you see, I recently got my book stolen, but I will try to look for another one later, alright? I wouldn't want you hurt, too many people are being hurt now, and I just want it to end. So please, when we get Germany to the infirmary, you have to come with me and help me search, it could prove more effective."

All the hurting nation did was nod as they slowly carried Germany to the infirmary.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Germany awoke with a throbbing headache; it felt like his body had been on fire…almost like the bombings he had suffered during world war two. He got up, slowly lifting off the floor, staggering slightly as he faced the world, "Mein gott…what's going on?" He leaned against a nearby wall, balancing himself out while clutching a hand to his head, "Agh…this pain is aggravating." He tried to open his eyes to no avail, they seemed shut tight with drowsiness, "Nng…I feel so heavy…" He heard a few scuffling noises, but ignored it as a cat, "…wait…" His eyes burst open at the remembrance of what happened, "Japan!" He yelled, the scenes catching up to his minor memory loss, "Japan!" He looked around, what had happened to- then he noticed it.

He wasn't at home…he didn't know where it was, but it looked eerie, nothing but a cracked pavement road and fog visible to him with the exception of the cliff. Germany felt a bit bizarre; he had never seen this place, and what happened to the others? He took a few small steps forward, "Hello?" Nothing responded to his question, "Hello?" the scream echoed back, making him a bit apprehensive, "…I should probably head down the road." He wanted to find another person, just someone else to help him, he didn't know what this place was- but it was giving off strange, dangerous vibes, telling him to get away from it. However the German knew he couldn't, because he simply didn't know where he was, and it irked him to no end; he always knew where he was.

So he walked, he walked down the strange abandoned road, ready to jump anyone if necessary, the more he walked down the road, the more dangerous the vibes got, to a point where he could hear a low hum in his ear, "Gottverdammt…what's up with this place?" He almost wanted to go back where he came from, go down the opposite way but

…what was that? He had seen a shadow in the fog, it looked like a sign. Excited, he ran over to it, hoping it would be a name to a town nearby or something populated, "Oh please, let this be a town and not just an advertisement." He ran closer, jogging to a slower pace as he fully stopped before the dusty sign, "…Yes! It sounds like an entrance to a town!" He tried to read the last part; but the only part he could read was 'welcome to'. Germany sighed, frustrated at the lack of care for this town, it's like nobody wanted to be here. Growling, he uncovered the thick layer of dust, dirtying his hands and wiping them on his pants, "This is disgusting…these people really need to clean this sign…" The German said as he glanced at his dust covered hands before looking up at the white nothing, "…and do something about this fog!" He yelled, "It seems like the more I head towards this place the thicker it gets!" It was seriously starting to get on his nerves, not able to see where you were heading was just awful.

Getting over his current irks, he spoke with a hint of anger, "Alright…this place is called 'Sanctuary'." He scoffed at the name; it seemed less like a sanctuary and more like a dirt hole. The people who lived here really needed to clean this up, it was ruining his clothes, "...Verdammt..." He didn't have much of a choice, he had to go towards the village, so he trudged towards it in slightly staggering motions, shit...he felt drowsy for some reason, he needed to- without further ado the German bent over, leaning on an abandoned car by the road, and spewed the contents in his stomach with horrid difficulty, it felt absolutely disgusting, it was like he was coughing out knives, and looked down to see- "was zur hölle?" He recoiled from the thing he had just coughed up, it was disgusting, it- it looked like-

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

They had finally gotten to the infirmary, having many worried nurses check his condition, monitoring his heart beat, taking his blood pressure, and gave him an oxygen mask; just in case. England just watched while Italy cried outside the door, begging for Germany to be alright, he felt like it was his fault...his fault for dragging those two into it, he was fairly certain that anyone who knew about this will eventually die unless he stopped that damn doppelganger...and whatever is controlling it. With a sigh he went outside with Italy, who had calmed down a bit. Only to watch as everything froze in place, even the light was too slow to escape the sudden freeze and halted midway through shutting itself off, leaving the island nation stunned, "Bloody-" All he could feel was something sharp at his throat as he took a sharp intake of air.

"...Hello, England."

"..." Arthur couldn't determine which he wanted, to beat the living shit out of the American, or to live a bit longer, "...wanker..." He muttered as a greeting of sorts.

"Hm, I'm going to make your death as painful as I can make it, solely because your weak...and the weak never live, you should know that, Iggy."

"Don't you dare-" The rest of the sentence was drowned by the knife slightly piercing his skin, sending little trickles of blood raining down his neck.

"...Don't I dare what? I'm independent now England, remember?" The Americans hand clutched the other nations blond hair, throwing him to the floor with a harsh crack, "You were the worst fucking father I've ever had."

"S-Shut the hell up, you're not America!" Cried the angered European on the floor.

"But I'm his exact copy...that makes what I'm thinking true, you were the worst, you even left me to die in Sanctuary...if it weren't for-" He stopped himself from saying anymore, he didn't want to give anything away. America lifted his foot to kick the other nation, only to see time returning to its normal current very slowly, he turned to look back down at England, who held a smile on his face.

"Don't underestimate my magic!" England shouted with a hint of cockiness and a swift kick to the knees, making the American disappear into the shadows of the hallway with a feral glare aimed at the Brit. The time seemed to return to him as he was shoved back into reality, standing next to Italy.

"Ve~ England? When did you get here?" Said a very normal Italy, confused at how the Brit managed to go from being behind a door, to outside one, "Ooh! Was it magic, England? If it was, it was amazing!" He clapped his hands before remembering what they were supposed to be doing, "T-the book, ve~!" He smiled a bit happily; glad he might be able to help his stoic German friend.

"Ah- R-right, let's go to my room, hurry!" With that he led both of them off into the hallway, in the direction of his enchanted room, running like it depended on their lives.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

America walked out of the parked trailer, stepping far from the vehicle as to not get caught by anything underneath, because the one thing he learned was; there's no place safe in Sanctuary. Everything went after you, and like Kiku had said, you can't trust anyone, "..." He stayed silent, waiting for the Asian man to get out of the car, 'Hurry up, Kiku. We can't afford to waste any time-'

"ALFRED!" Was shouted from inside the van, propelling the other to move.

"Kiku!" He ran towards the Trailer, hopping inside, seeing nothing there for a moment before his eyes landed on a strange creature above Kiku, obviously taller than both of them. He didn't even have to move when the creature turned its head in his direction, eyeing the American with pitch black, unseen eyes dug inside its rotting dark skin, locks of dirtied blonde were above the creature's head, covered in filth and other things that best be left unmentioned.

"...A-America..." It reached out a rotting arm, longer than two meters, the bone very visible underneath the dried, dead skin of the monster with long fingernails that acted like claws.

When he heard his name, his mind went blank, this person couldn't possibly be- no, it couldn't it was too- but he was forced to try and shoot at the figure when it lunged its arm at him, ready to drag him back. The American had luckily missed, leaving the monster to stand and smile, opening its mouth to reveal pointed, sharp teeth and many bullet shells that looked eerily familiar, but he couldn't think of that right now, he had to shoot-

Click.

...What?

Click, click, click.

"SHIT!" Throwing the gun to the floor he noticed why the monster smirked, it was holding any form of defense the American could have used; nothing was available to them now. With one tantalizing look at the Japanese beneath the monster, he lunged at it, ignoring the sharp nails trying to cut through his skin or the fact that he didn't know what else the monster could do, "Kiku, run! RUN!" He held the monster in a choke-hold, stopping any attempts at harming the other male and quickly pressed his arm against the pressure points of the monster, making it slightly disoriented, giving both of the male's enough time to run away from it with minor wounds. Even closing and locking the door behind them as to make sure it won't do anything to them.

While the blue eyed country cheered at their victory, the onyx haired one looked at him, slight guilt in his eyes. He rid himself of the feeling as he smiled at the American, who stopped to smile back with a thumbs up, Japan exhaled a slow breath before throwing himself at the American, engulfing the other in a sort of tight hug, "T-thank you, America-. I very much appreciate how you came back for me instead of running away."

"No problem dude!" He hugged the other back, sending a tingling sensation down his spine, "I would never leave you." Slipped out of his mouth without himself even knowing, he blushed and slapped a hand over his mouth, "I-I didn't- umm..." The blush was forming nicely on his cheeks.

Kiku giggled, "It's alright, Alfred. I would never leave you either."

Somehow those words seemed a bit familiar to him, sending a strange feeling into his fluttering stomach, "...I...thanks, Japan." It appeared he didn't even notice the words that left his mouth.

But the man being thanked did, his eyes widened, "...Alfred...how did-?" He stopped himself as the other gave him a confused look, maybe he would remember sooner than expected. Kiku shook his head and muttered a soft, 'nothing.' before walking off with the American shortly behind him.

Everything was heading good for the two nations walking down the dark, rusting streets and dark, bloodied buildings towards a safe spot.

"Hey…" Started the slightly frightened American, "Kiku? D-don't we need some sort of weapon?" He caught up to the smaller man and grabbed his arm, which he quickly pulled back after a shriek from the other, "Sorry!"

"…N-no…it's alright, America." Japan said in a paranoid voice, "…But our last weapons are in the trailer, and I'm sure there are more weapons, but they are in highly dangerous places." He stopped at the division of the street before walking to an abandoned road in progress, it had no name, but there might be more weapons there of some sort.

"Kiku, do you think there are weapons back here? Because it just looks like a normal dirt road…with fence around it…"

"…Honestly, yes there are, but they aren't guns…they are melee weapons of sorts. We should get there fast; the town is currently in the dark side."

"…Oh…is that why it's so dark?" Asked America, looking up at the dark, cloudy sky and even worse looking road, it wasn't too bad though, "Hey, Kiku?"

Said Japanese man turned to face the American, "Yes?"

"…Why is the road so…normal?" America turned behind him, pointing down the road, "It looks worse that way, but the direction we're walking in seems more normal." He turned back towards the unfazed Asian.

"Well, because we're heading farther away from the heart of the town, but we are not fully leaving it, we are only going outside it."

That made America stop in shock, "You can actually leave this place? W-why wouldn't it let me leave before?" He shouted, which made the other man tackle him to the ground, covering his mouth.

"America, please be quiet! The monsters can appear anywhere they want!" He sat above the panicking American, "Calm down, America." Kiku was completely ignoring how suggestive their position was, it didn't matter in this moment therefore he didn't give it much thought. Until the other was trying to force the Asian off, "Ugh…" Kiku leaned down slowly, as to make sure the other wouldn't speak any louder, leaning closer, he watched as the other calmed down, looking rather flustered, "You calm yet?" It took a while for the American to respond.

"K…Kiku?" America said with the blush across his face.

"Yes. Now get up and let's keep moving before your fear and panicking attracts any unwanted attention." He stood from the other, showing no emotion at the action he just made, brushing it off like it was nothing, "Please, stay quieter and don't do anything unnecessary."

Alfred just nodded, 'I…I thought he was going to kiss me.' Turning to look at the other with a curious look in his eyes, he thought, 'Why would I want him to kiss me?' Honestly, he wanted that fluttery feeling inside of him to stay, but it was bizarre because it felt so familiar, like he's done it before. But he has never met this person in his entire life. Everything was so strange, "Hey…um, Kiku?" He paused for a fraction of a second, "Have I…ever met you before?"

The Japanese just laughed, "America, you said so yourself, 'you would remember me if you had really met me'."

Both of the men just walked the rest of the way in silence.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Germany sauntered back, repulsed by the object on the floor before him, "…W-what is that?" He stared at the puddle of blood and the mass lying in the center of the mess, "…What is that?" He repeated. It seemed to be pulsating in the rhythmic beat of a heart, but that was no heart; especially a certain object around it, "…My…cross." He said, stunned at what he had somehow coughed up, which made him wonder how exactly that had been in his stomach, slowly backing away he started to say, "This is strange, I have to find someone to tell me what is going on here." And with that he ran towards the small town, sprinting towards a road in the forest that led to the hidden 'Sanctuary.'

He ran inside the green and foggy wilderness, passing strange things that he hadn't noticed in his rush to make it to a town. The black gravel road seemed to be getting narrower and narrower each time he took a step, but this wasn't noticed by the German man, who had started to huff a bit from the running of the long road under him, it almost seemed as if it would never end, but it was getting smaller and smaller, to a point where he did notice the 'road' had become no more than two meters in diameter, "…They were possibly working on this-"

_Skitter._

_Stop._

What was that thing he just saw? Was it human?

His eyes lingered on the spot where the acclaimed object was, searching around him for the strange human like shadow, tracing over every inch of land his eyes could sight on, it must have been quite a long time, for the sky had gotten darker, "…Forget it, maybe it was just my imagination." He kept walking without fail, taking caution in each step, tantalizing and yet fast, but the more he walked the more he started to go into a small state of hysteria, there was something, it was behind him. It was definitely behind him, breathing down his neck, it was mocking him, it was mocking- about Italy, sweet Italy, "I…"

Sky blue eyes widened in fear, shaking his body before he fell to his knees in fear, "I- I swear I didn't do it! I didn't kill him- I swear I didn't! Oh God just please let me go!" He shouted at the figure behind him, which he thought was there, "Please…please don't kill me…" Germany let loose a string of tears, "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

The German stood up, confused at what just happened and looked behind him. Fully turning, he froze in shock, eying what was before him like it was out to get him killed. He couldn't believe what just happened, and what was there, it was absolutely insane, absolutely fucking insane.

**There was nothing there.**

He gripped his hair in a tight lock, 'what the hell had just happened? This thing just made him go into a fit of hysterics! He had truly believed he killed the Italian when he _wasn't even here_.' He quickly checked both ways down the roads, before bursting into a full on sprint towards the town, away from the forest, 'Gott- I have to get out of here-'There was a faint voice whispering in his ear, it was faint but he could hear it as clear as day, 'run.' With that he quickened his pace, he was running as fast as he'd ever ran before- wait- his legs...what was going on? The German looked down to see his legs engulfed in the dark substance of quicksand, "Oh no-" He struggled to release himself from the strong grip, "Get off, get off!" He shouted while trying to kick out of the quicksand, damn, it wasn't budging an inch and-

_Shuffle._

_Not again…_

In a desperate attempt to get out of the horrid forest he was in, he grabbed a nearby tree branch, "I hope this works." The large man lugged himself out, not being very successful but- "!" Looking down he saw something that absolutely mortified him, while he thought it might have been a bug that bit him, it was some sort of disfigured arm with the skin hanging off the pieces of meat and bone that were still there, "...Mein gott..." He whispered out in disbelief.

_'-Die here...you'll die here...'_

The voice seemed to come from nowhere but his mind, what the fuck was wrong with this place? He managed to pull out the leg the creature was holding, kicking away the decomposing human hand. He had to get away from whatever this goddamn forest was, something was absolutely not right about this place- eventually after the hand descended back into the pit of sand he pulled out the other foot while holding onto a more stronger piece of...what was this? He turned around to come face to face with a noose, obviously used to hang oneself. Whoever was in charge of this place had a seriously bad sense of humor; Germany was trying to thinking in a quick, rational way; he was just going to have to keep running until he reached Sanctuary. This forest was something else, he didn't know where he was, but it was dangerous.

So he did, his legs were straining to run away, the forest almost seeming to laugh at him as he tried to leave, "I have to reach that town!" He was huffing, eyes dilated, breath visible in the cold embrace of the woods, his green military outfit ruffled in the wind as he sped away with lightning speed. He kept trying to leave, only to stop when the road ended and there was still remaining trees to go through, "…Shit…" It was as if it wanted him to die here, and he sure as hell wouldn't let that happen, without a second thought he ran into the abyss of trees before him, slapping away pieces of stray branches and several plants.

After a few solitary minutes, he noticed something strange was going on, or at least- stranger than this: the sky. It was getting darker a bit too fast; it seemed to be getting darker from one certain location, and no other. Behind him it was nicely illuminated, slightly clouded but still visible, and the town he was heading towards was filled in darkness, like the night originated from there or something. The sky was darker right above the town, where he was heading; it almost gave him second thoughts if it wasn't for his rushing adrenaline.

Germany just brushed it off as the night setting in, or the possibility that he was heading east. The darkened forest was what he should be worried about first, there were many remains littering the place, bottles, hairbrushes, bags, and other human utensils essential for a person, "That's not good…somebody must have gotten lost." While he wanted to help the poor human, he got the feeling he probably shouldn't return, the person might already be dead from the look of how old these items were; Germany didn't want to risk his life for a dead person.

With a shrug he kept walking, ignoring any other personal belongings and information, he just had to get to that town- then he saw it. Stepping back, placing a hand over his gawking mouth he whispered, "…My God…" His eyes were scanning the area a mile a second, there were bodies, bodies _everywhere_. On the trees, hanging from nooses, some covering the floor, and that one occasional one that just happens to be at your feet. Germany looked past the bodies, at the sight of the town and quickly rushed past the large numbers of bodies caught in an eternal dream.

_Step, step, step._

His feet resounded in his head, like there was nothing else but that, everything was as silent as a grave would be. Dead and unmoving. Germany took one last look behind him, to make sure there wasn't anything there, before looking down at the town below him, "…This isn't a town." He choked out in disbelief as he saw the thing before him. As if it knew there wasn't much hope to begin with, was a giant cement wall covering the town he so desperately wanted to enter, it was absolutely mortifying, tall and strong, towering well over 15 feet, blocking his way into the town, "How didn't I notice this before?" He trudged right to the wall in a small rage.

A step towards the wall and a sudden bright light consumed him, before fading back into darkness and leaving the German with a yelp of fear, the bodies that were behind him were all suddenly stopping his way towards the wall, as if protecting the surrounding field. He checked to make sure they wouldn't harm him, getting no response from them; he jumped out of their way before being consumed by another bright light, with the undead bodies surrounding him with a monotone expression, which reminded him of the seemingly emotionless Japanese man.

He had to get rid of them somehow, he walked around them; making sure they were behind him, cautiously taking a few more, longer steps to the town, before being consumed by the light once more and seeing the corpses standing in soldier position, as if ready to take orders of some sort. The bodies didn't appear like they were going to hurt the German nation, so with a slight gulp of fear he muttered out a nervous, "...Yes?" In a sudden whim of light, the whole place had turned just like it was before, cold, desolate, and clouded, but this time the soldiers were standing before him with their arms raised in a salute, completely ignoring the familiar small of death coming from behind those walls.

"Sir!" One spoke up, his blonde eyes and blue hair reminding Germany of his 'ultimate' soldiers.' He gave a nod for him to continue, "What do we do with the people, sir?" This startled the German nation.

"...What people, soldier?"

"The prisoners in the concentration camp of Auschwitz, sir!"

The German sauntered back, ready to punch the boy that said that, "What the hell are you talking about?" '_This couldn't possibly be happening, he promised it would never happen again- it _couldn't_ happen again._' "You're sick...How could you mention that in front of me?"

"Sir, are you alright?" The soldier who had spoken took a step towards the angered German, "You're the one who ordered the extermination- should we cancel it for now?"

"For _now_?" He grabbed the Sepia haired boy by the neck and forced him to look directly at him, "What the hell are you talking about? The holocaust ended over sixty years ago!" Germany was left to stare at the faces of the confused soldiers.

"Sir...are you sure you're feeling alright? O-our war just started- back in 1941...when we started ridding our country of the lesser races..." Spoke up one of the other soldiers.

_'Kill them, Ludwig.'_

The German looked around for the voice he thought he heard, "...Did you hear that?"

The men currently sweating at the tense atmosphere all answered with a, "N-no, sir."

_'Kill...Kill them...do it.'_

Germany glared at nothing in particular, '_What's going on?'_

'You want to kill them, Ludwig...just take the knife out of your uniform-'

"I'm not going to kill anybody!" He pulled away from the soldiers like he just touched fire.

'I'm sure I don't have to explain how to kill someone- you know plenty about that.'

"Mein Gott- just go away! I don't want to hear anymore of this!" He backed away some more as the soldiers got closer, worrying for their leader.

"Sir, do you need to go see the doctors? Should we contact-"

_Shlick._

_Spurt._

"!"

The officers looked horrified as the butterfly knife lodged itself in the man's chest, right through his heart. The green uniform tried its hardest to soak up all the blood, but failed miserably, the blood rushed down his chest, and out of the man's mouth, staining his chin, eyes quickly getting bloodshot. Germany just watched as the soldier fell to the ground, clutching the knife thoroughly embedded in him, "...Gott...what did I-"

_'It felt good didn't it?'_

_**No.**_

_'Don't deny the rush you felt- you missed the feeling of killing a person didn't you? Or should I say millions-"_

_**No.**_

_'You liked it.'_

"**Schnauze**!" He screamed loudly, the world he was in, filled with smoke and the smell of death was replaced by the entrance forest where the man had started. Germany found himself sitting against another sign, abandoned in the forest, "...What was that?" He whispered shakily, getting up to his feet with a small moan of discomfort, "...I don't like this...not one bit..." He turned around to look at the sign, pale fingers running through his slightly messy blonde hair, "Another sign that must be cleaned."

_Warning:_

_Stay out of forest at all costs._

_Dangerous fumes are present in the area._

_They can cause fatal hallucinations._

_Please leave the area immediately._

_Sanctuary is currently off limits due to_

_the dangerous fumes present in the area._

_Please turn your car back around._

_Do not come back._

"...All of that...was a hallucination?" His baby blue eyes widened in shock, his skin going at least three shades paler than it had already been, before he burst into a smile, "It was all a hallucination!" He exclaimed in a happy tone before covering his eyes to stop any tears from coming out, "Gott sei Dank! Thank God it wasn't real!" He cried out, wiping his eyes from any traces of tears, "I...I don't think I could live if I actually murdered-"

_'Look behind you, Ludwig.'_

_...God no..._

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

The other two nations kept walking in that direction, slowly being consumed by the darkness inching closer. Neither of them noticing the strange noises they kept hearing in the distance, but then again they might not want to find out either, "…Hey Keeks? Is…is that a farm?" Pointed out the American, looking at a broken down, rusted farm. The wood rotting all around it, covered in layers of gray dust and ashes, making it seem older than it probably was.

"W-what?" Stuttered out the shocked Japanese, looking incredulously at the American.

"Huh?" Alfred looked mildly confused, "O-oh! S-sorry, Kiku! I- I don't know why I said that, it just- it just came out!" He apologized at his mistake, looking flustered and slightly shocked.

The older male nodded with a light dusty pink on his cheeks, "It's…it's alright. Just- someone used to call me that before…" He trailed off and kept walking towards the farm, passing the random blue car, broken windows and dented frame sitting alone in the house of sorts, "Hurry up, Al- America."

"Yes!" He responded quickly, running towards the door, stopping momentarily and warily opening it, checking inside for anything before actually entering, Kiku trailing slowly behind, seemingly lost in thought, "…Hey…I'm sorry…if I offended you or anything-" He cut off after he heard slight sniffles, "-Kiku? Kiku, hey- are you crying?" He turned as he said this, maybe he did offend his friend in some way, "Listen- I-I'm sorry if what I said brought back bad memories or something-"

"N-no! It's…it just reminded me of a special someone I had…a few years back…I loved them dearly…but then they…they changed." The Asian nation was clutching his hands firmly within each other on his chest, looking hurt as he relived his memories.

America was shocked, he didn't even think of the possibility something had happened to the man, he had only…cared about himself, "…_I'm sorry_…"

"What?"

"Huh? Oh- nothing…please, continue." He pushed, leading the smaller man towards an old, dusty but firm table in the center of the dining room, softly seating both of them, "It's not good to keep your feelings pent up, you can…always talk to me if you want to." He ushered, wanting to help the other in any way he could.

"…He-"

"It was a guy?" America exclaimed, before coughing and shifting his gaze, "Sorry, please continue…"

Kiku giggled lightly, "Yes…he's very close to me…I loved him with all my heart…and then one day he just…he betrayed me…and everyone else. He hurt us; he hurt us so badly-" He let one silent tear fall loose, "He…he stabbed me and laughed about it…he proceeded to kill everyone else- he experimented on us and talked about something called-" The petite Japanese straightened his back, eyes wide in fear, looking like he was in a slight trance, he stayed still, not even breathing before he closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair, losing consciousness.

This alerted the American that something was wrong, "Kiku? Kiku, come on…d-don't play jokes…" He shook the others shoulder gently, not getting an answer, only meeting silence, "Kiku? Come on, man! Wake up! You're fucking scaring me-"

'_Get away from him.'_

'What?' He looked around, this wasn't Kiku's voice, this voice sounded familiar; but like he has never heard it before in his life, "…W-who the hell are you?"

'_Get. Away. From. Him.'_

"Not until- not until you fuck off!" He shouted at the ceiling, where the voice seemed to come from, "What the hell did you do to him, you stupid son of a bitch?"

'…_You're a foolish, naïve nation…you have to learn more…learn the truth.' It stopped for a moment, seeming to laugh at the American's confused face before continuing, 'I am helping you. I will teach you the truth if you just follow what I say…' This time it really chuckled, waiting for a response._

"No way in fucking hell! Now tell me _what you did to him_, before I find you and kick your fucking ass!" He shouted, now clutching the smaller man close to his chest; protecting him.

'_Listen to me you fucking bastard, this is your last goddamn warning before I fuck you the hell up.'_

Now it definitely sounded familiar…where has he heard this voice before? "Didn't I tell you to fuck off?" He shouted, before a deep rumbling shook the house, causing a slight earthquake.

'_Alright.'_

The voice said, before consuming him in a cloud of darkness, leaving him as defenseless as a new born puppy, 'what was going on?' He tried looking around; finding nothing that could be of use to him and his sight, for now he could only hold Kiku close and protect him. He had to protect him; it felt like his duty to protect this broken angel before him.

'_Your definition of our little nation right there is thoroughly corrupted; I'll have to fix that.'_

Was all he heard before a faint image of someone with a sadistic smile appeared in sight, grabbing at the man in his arms, "No! Get away from me!" He yelled, trying to back away from the apparition slowly closing in, not changing even a bit of distance between them, "Go away, you damn fucker!" He shouted, trying to hit the blurred image and run off with the Asian in his arms, not even taking notice that the other guy had called Kiku a nation.

'_Hello.'_

The voice startled America, as well as the face before him, smiling with dark intent before snatching the Japanese nation from him and dispersed with an enthused laugh, "Wait you damn copy! Get back here!" He shouted at the now empty room, showing no case of anyone ever being there, just him in his loneliness, "Fucking shit!" He cursed, he had to find a way to get Kiku back- he can't believe he let that look-alike just take him away like that! Kiku could be seriously injured if America didn't help him- he might even- no America, don't think of that…just get the weapons that should be somewhere around here and head towards the hellhole they call Sanctuary…find the bitch that stole his friend away.

_Plip._

…Was he…crying? "Damn, I'm such a loser- get the hell over yourself man! Just get the fucking weapons and be a hero- for- for Japan!" He said, not even registering the name he uttered. America quickly wiped away the tears in once smooth motion of his arm and ran around the farm house looking for any sort of weapon that could be useful, "I have to get Kiku back." He couldn't let someone die, especially not him. Especially not Kiku.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

The Brit opened the door, signaling Italy to get in, "Hurry up, Italy. We have to find the book before anything worse happens to Germany." He whispered, avoiding having anymore contacts with the doppelganger, he would kill it if he had to, but for now he had to worry more over his friends.

"Vee…alright, England! I'll check this side and you check that side!" Italy shouted loud enough for the whole house to hear, nearly deafening England.

"Shut it you-! Ugh…Please be more quiet, Italy. We have to find that book." He whispered again, heading over to his large collection of books, studying which were magic ones and which were just stories or other unnecessary things. His soft, pale hands shifted through the books at lightning speed, pulling out about two from the whole collection, "Damn…where are all the bloody books when you need them?" He placed the books on the bed, noticing the Italian was scuttling under the bed, searching for a book, "…Italy, I highly doubt there's a book under-"

"Found one!" He yelled excitedly, pulling out of the bed, holding up the purple book, "Is this one good, England? Vee!"

Arthur quickly shushed the yelling nation, yanking the book from his grasp, flipping over the silver papers, "Hmm…I thought I lost this one…but it'll do Italy." He nodded and said, "You have to look up…whatever the hell you think that…Japan was. Because I honestly don't know- and we need to find out fast, so please do this for Ludwig, Italy."

The other nation looked at England sadly and yet smiled, "Alright! I'll search as hard as I can!" With another vee he flipped open the book, along with his eyes and started skimming through the pages, looking for some sort of magical being close to Kiku's characteristics.

As hours passed by for the two nations, neither had figured out if it was some sort of magical creature or not, England had come up with many, like: An afrit, an angel, a banshee, maybe a ghost, an incubi, a mirror person? But Italy kept denying these- especially the angel one, only to be counter acted by England as he said not all angels are good. Eventually they both were near giving up, but Italy remembered a story Japan had told him, honestly he might not be right but- maybe he was.

"Vee! England, England! I think I know what Japan is!"

"Then say it already!" hissed the tired Brit, in all of his three books he hadn't found anything that Italy wouldn't reject.

"Um…I think it's an onryō…Japan told me a story about a woman who turned into one…I'm not sure about the men though…let's look at your book again." With a smile on his face he reached for the books and went over to the O's, looking for the certain word that might be what Japan was.

England sighed, "Come on, Italy- don't tell me you think Japan's a-"

"I found it!"

The British male looked over at the Italian, "You sure are devoted to do anything for Germany…"

All Italy did was nod and tell England the contents of the book, " Onryō is a mythological spirit from Japanese folklore who is able to return to the physical world in order to seek vengeance. While male onryō can be found, mainly in kabuki, the majority are women. Powerless in the physical world, they often suffer at the capricious whims of their male lovers. In death they become strong."

He nodded at England, "Well, America did kill him! It also says here that…" He trailed off, searching for the part to read, "The traditional Japanese spirit world is layered, with Yomi on one extreme, and the physical world on the other. In-between is a sort of purgatory, an uncertain and ambiguous waiting area where spirits languish before moving on. Ghosts in this in-between state who are very powerful from love, jealousy, hatred or sorrow can bridge the gap back to the physical plane where they can haunt and wreak havoc on their earthly tormentors."

England seemed rather pleased with this one, "Hmm…that…sounds pretty good…but wouldn't he take revenge on Alfred-"

"They are driven by their desire for vengeance, though they do not always follow the ideal of justified revenge, for example, several tales involve abusive husbands, but these husbands are rarely the target of the onryō's vengeance." Italy looked a bit sad at this, "That's rather sad…they die in such bad ways…but then they don't even go after the one's at fault! He went for Germany!" He glared at the book as if it was Japan's mirror.

"Italy…it wasn't actually Japan who did this…we saw him die…he's dead and…it can't be a ghost…I haven't heard of ghosts who do that."

"Hmm…but why Germany?...He hasn't done anything wrong…"

England stayed silent, 'what the hell does he mean that damn German kraut didn't do anything wrong?'

"…Vee…England?" Asked a worried Italy, England seemed to be rather angry at something, "W-we could go with this, right? It's okay! W-we don't have to read anymore books! This…this could be what it was! I swear!" He whimpered, he didn't want England to come after him again!

"Hah?" Arthur looked shocked, "I'm fine, Italy! Now let's hurry on to the room where it happened…maybe…we could find out more things…maybe we'll find Alfred-"

A soft growl was heard from the usually smiling Italian, "…England…" He raised his head to glare at the other, "Don't you remember what that did to _Germany_? Did you forget what happened already?" He stood up, screaming at the British nation, "You don't care about anyone else, do you? You bastard!" He yelled before running out the doorway, leaving the Brit alone.

The blonde haired man sat there, staring shocked at the door, 'What just happened?' He thought, "Damn…" The realization sunk in, he was alone now. Near the doppelganger right across the hall, "Fucking- Damn wanker!" He shouted, but hushed it down, quickly leveling himself as he stood, he ran at the door to close it. Only to be stopped by a foot at the door.

"…_Hello, England."_


	4. Chapter 4

Sanctuary

Chapter 4

America gulped as he looked down at the staircase, drenched in the darkness of the cellar, hiding where nothing could be seen, leading towards the unknown, "...Fucking basements..." He hissed, placing the wooden plank he found higher in his arm for comfort, he could beat anything out of his way with this...but didn't Kiku say something about going down? Fuck. Lowering the wooden plank he cursed, confused whether to go or not, "Shit!" While he was in utter denial he made up his mind, "I'm going down there...for Kiku." He stayed for a second longer before taking in a shuddering breath and stepping on the first staircase, plank still in hand for anything to come.

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH._

With a startled yelp he stepped back, falling on his backside, and quickly getting up to close the door from whatever was inside. He sat, leaning against the wall, scared out of his mind,_ 'I think I will get scared _out of my mind_.' _A few deep pants and he calmed, eyes wide and fearful, "...Where the hell am I supposed to find a weapon?" He looked back towards the basement, slowly turning his head and staring at it with mild disgust. The door, it almost called to him, telling him to go down there, "But fuck if I'm crazy enough to do that." He stood and decided to walk up the stairs, directly across from him in the narrow hall, he walked steadily towards it, looking back every few seconds, paranoid of his surroundings and the feeling of being watched while you're alone.

One step up the stairs and it was already like a horror movie, but it was real, and way too calm to be normal.

_Creak._

_Creak._

_Creak._

Damn these squeaky raggedy ass stairs...scaring me when there's nothing around, he thought as he turned back to face the steps and- "holy shit what is that?" He yelled, about to slap himself for his stupidity. Hanging from the low ceiling was some sort of...strange shadow thing, he couldn't really tell what it was, and he wasn't about to stick around to find out either, he quickly backed up and when he noticed the thing move, ran right into the basement he didn't want to go into, "Fucking shit!" He yelled. He really was an idiot. Looking around the dark filled room, he couldn't find any traces of monsters or...well, anything. Ha placed his hands on the railing for the stairs heading down, quietly trying not to get killed or...well, see any monsters. Luckily, when he made it to the bottom of the stairs, there were no monsters or strange black shadows anywhere.

Rounding the stairs, he went over to the wall and searched for a light switch, which luckily, glowed in the dark, "Oh, this is the only time I'll ever love this place..." Alfred said, relief filling his slightly paranoid tone. With one motion of his hand, the whole room was illuminated, making the American calm down and walk about, "Alright...there's a few boxes and...is that a machete? Cool." He smiled, walking towards the pointy object, quickly gathering it upon his arms and throwing away the other melee weapon. Alfred quickly and carefully hugged the sharp machete, "Oh, thank you, God! I finally found a sexy- I mean...a really good weapon." After admiring the object, he looked around for anything more, maybe a gun...or a spiked maul?

Walking over to another set of boxes, he carefully opened them up, "...I wonder what's in here..." He found them to be filled up with pain killers, band-aids, and all other sorts of medical stuff, "Boy, that's a relief. Now I know I can come back here." Alfred kept searching around, looking through all the boxes, but he found none. With an aggravated sigh he looked around the room for anything else that might be interesting, "...Is that...is that a door?" He questioned, walking right up to the wall and tracing the lines, making it appear like a door. Yes, it was, but how could he open it? "Damn...it's stuck tight..." Looking for another form of entry, he found it. It was a keyhole, hidden by the pain and dust that layered the door..."...Now I just need to find the stupid key, don't I?"

He pushed himself up and walked towards the stairs, slowly going up, machete tightly held in his hands as he approached the door, opening it with a single push of his arm, "Fucking shadow thing better not be there." He walked out slowly, examining his strange, and yet, changed surroundings, "...Weird...the other world must have...gone back or something." He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, ducking before he reached the stairs, trying to see if the monster was lurking on the ceiling still, "Nope...it's clear." With a happy grunt he walked up the creaking stairs with confidence. Sadly, every time he stepped on another board, it creaked with such a disgruntling noise that it made Alfred cringe every time.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Ludwig was frozen on the spot, there was no way he was going to move...it would be suicide...he didn't want to relive that time, the most horrible time in his life.

'Turn around. You're not ashamed of the...horrible and cruel murder you did...are you?'

That thing was mocking him...that little fucking bastard, "Shut up! What sane person wouldn't be?" He shouted, still not turning around, he doesn't want to see anything _near_ the forest. This place was crazy...everything was crazy, he didn't want to be here, mocked by...voices..."No, I'm perfectly fine...perfectly sane, there's no need to panic over silly things like hallucinations- the gas must still be in my system."

'I assure you it's not.'

"I assure you you're not real."

'…'

Ha. He got it to shut up- so he was right, it was still just the poison in his system making him a bit...strange. With a slightly content heave, he walked away from the forest, not once facing the direction the voice had come from.

'How dare you say...I don't exist?'

...He talked to soon, "..." should he answer it? It's not real...it's just a voice...He corrected himself and thought, 'Well, that doesn't make it seem at all better.' He kept walking, ignoring the pestering voice.

'I'll show you what _exists_ in this world.' It hissed out, before Ludwig promptly fell over, staring into the face of someone familiar.

"No...you can't be-" A smile from the other was the last thing he saw before his eyes went into a restless oblivion, unaware of the things surrounding him.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Arthur blanched, his face had gone deathly pale and his eyes were turning wide and fearful, "You bastard! Get the hell away from me! I'm fucking trying to save you- why the hell can't you just appreciate this?" He backed up further into the wall as the other approached him slowly, death glare placed eagerly on his face, "...Alfred...you're still in there...you have to be- why would you be like this?" He quieted down as the other pointed a knife right at his lips, damn...he was hoping to live longer...

"...Do you want me to kill you the same way I killed France, or the same way I'll kill Ludwig?"

England glared back and slapped the knife away from him, "What the hell are you going to do to Germany? You better not even go near him or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" He placed a hand on his hip, "Bitch me to death?"

"Shut it, you bloody git."

America pulled back his arm and punched the shorter man right on the jaw, then harshly grabbed the Brit's hair and yanked him up, "Watch your fucking mouth." He growled, "You don't deserve to be living right now, but because I'm feeling nice, I'll try not to draw out your torture for too long." He kneed England in the gut and dropped him to the floor, "Let's start."

"Wait!"

The taller nation stopped, listening to the bruised Englishman.

"You..." He panted, his jaw might have been shattered from the force of the hit, "...You never told me exactly how I 'abandoned' you, or what the hell Sanctuary is."

Alfred scoffed, "I still laugh at that name..." He leaned down to the other man's height and said, "But why should I tell you these things? I don't think you deserve to know shit." He glared, "I also don't care if you get me out anymore...I honestly just want to kill you over, and over again...for leaving me in that damn 'Sanctuary'...Do you _know_ how much I fucking SUFFERED?" He cried out, making England flinch slightly, "So why the hell should I tell-" He pointed straight at him, "The cause of my fucking problems?"

England stayed quiet for a moment, "...Well...if you're going to kill me. Knowing I love you and would do anything for you...knowing I would do anything in the world to help you get better...why shouldn't I know?" He choked, "At least I care about you Alfred!"

"..."There was silence in the room as Alfred's eyes watered slightly, "...You do...? Even after I..." He straightened himself out and glared, "What the fuck are you trying to pull, you bastard?"

"Nothing, Alfred...I really do...you're my little brother, Alfred...there is no way I wouldn't care about you...you meant the world to me back then, and you still do now." He tried, "Please...just tell me what I did wrong.."

The doppelganger stopped for a moment, something changing in it's eyes as it looked away, "...Alright...I'll tell you. Just so I could rub it in your face how wrong you were." He glared expressionlessly and continued, "...My...he told me about Sanctuary eventually...when I first got there, I was greeted by a person...he was really, very, very kind to me at first..." He snapped himself out of it, "B-but anyways, Sanctuary is a...a town where your sins...your wrongdoings or anything bad you have ever done in your life, punishes you, full force. It wants you to suffer as much as you made them suffer, the person or thing that you hurt. It wants you to be scarred...mentally, emotionally...physically. In every way possible it...wants to hurt you so you can...see what you did wrong and...learn the truth." He paused momentarily, "I can't tell you too much about it."

"...Is it...is it like...hell?"

Alfred laughed, "Oh, you wouldn't _believe_. It's...it's worse than hell."

"...Then why would you name it...or they name it...'Sanctuary' of all names?"

Alfred stopped, worry and fear filling his face, "...I...I don't know."

"...Alfred, are- are you alright? Please, tell me...I'll help...I'll help in any way possible." He lent a comforting hand to the nearly hyperventilating apparition of a nation.

"...Because...in a sense...it is...a Sanctuary. I like it there...I loved how they punished me, I love just how horribly _scarring_ it was." He chuckled slowly, "...I bet you think I'm masochistic, huh? You won't understand it England. At least, not yet."

Arthur nodded and whispered out, "You've really gone mad..." He continued, "But...can you tell me...how exactly I left you there? Besides being unable to track the signal that is."

The younger nation snorted and almost laughed, "Oh- Oh my, you...you tried to track the signal from Sanctuary? Ha. That's the most ridiculous assumption I've ever heard of! Psh, tracking Sanctuary with a computer..."

"...What do you mean?"

"Well...first of all- this Sanctuary I'm talking about...it's not real."

"...What?" He said stunned.

"It's. Not. Real."

"Explain!"

Alfred pointed to his cranium, "It's in your head...you have to kill yourself to go there...you can only go there if you're dead." Then he smirked, "...That's why Germany won't be staying there for much longer...he'll wake up in a few days of this world. Don't worry."

"...Germany..." Arthur trailed off, "...Germany is in Sanctuary?"

"Uh-huh. He won't be there for much longer though, he's not dead." Yet.

England looked at America, "...So he's alright?"

The American nodded and smiled in an odd fashion, "...I'll let you see for yourself, you have a few days...and maybe you might get more if you manage to convince me." A swoop of his hand and the Brit was out, leaving Alfred to get out of the room and back into his.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Feliciano pet the blonde locks of Ludwig's hair, "Ve..." He ran his creamy tan fingers through the tussled hair, slightly straightening out the small knots and whatnot, "...Please...wake up already, Ludwig...it's been a few days...I know you're in a coma from what the nurses told me...but you can't just leave us behind like that. We still need you Luddy. I don't think I can make it without you, you've always been there to save me and help others with their problems..." He stopped for a second, "...If only you didn't help Japan...This would never have happened to you..." He sniffled, but his eyes quickly widened as he saw the German man twitch at the mention of their...friend..."Vee...L-Ludwig!" He jumped up, lightly shaking the broad man's shoulders, "You- you can still h-hear me right? Ludwig! Please, please wake up!" He begged.

"W-what's with the racket, Italy? Can't you bloody see that- that I'm trying to get this concussion over with?" Arthur said, rubbing his head from the slight pain, also his jaw which _had_ been shattered by the way.

Italy jumped over to the Englishman, "No! No, England- you don't understand- Ludwig just moved! He just moved!" Italy exclaimed loudly, quickly being met by ushering nurses who took a look at the unconscious German man, "I think he's coming out of his coma- or something, Vee!"

The blonde haired male quickly sat back up and looked over at him, 'Could...could this be what Alfred was talking about?' Slowly moving over the bed, he lightly bounced off, "...Italy, let's just wait until he...gets up- he's moving, it should be very soon now." With a groan he stood, ordering the nurses to take a good look and tel them if he was going to awaken soon, "And someone, please get me a cup of tea and painkillers."

A British nurse quickly went over to make it, "I'll be right back, England sir!"

Arthur nodded and sat back, staring at the German who had not yet awakened, "...You better wake up you kraut- I want to know exactly what the hell happened." He looked at the window, which looked straight across to the hall, "And what that Sanctuary is."

-/Sanctuary\-

Germany awoke, feeling better than he should have felt from being in this strange place, "...Damn...what happened?" He sat up, gently massaging his throbbing migraine, then looking up to see a quiet, little, smog filled town, "...I don't ever remember getting here..." Shakily, he brought himself up to his feet and began scanning the area, "...This town looks...abandoned." He stopped at that, quickly taking it back once he saw a figure...limping? Away through the fog, maybe he could talk to this person! "Hey- hey you! Stop- I- I need help!" He shouted, running after the long gone figure, "Wait! Please, I just want to ask for a little amount of help!" he started to run, ignoring his protesting migraine, "Wait- I just need help! Please, help me!" Right at this moment, he heard the distant sound of...static. Why would there be static?

He gave it no second thought and began running after the person, "Hey-" That's when he saw it.

Blood.

Covering the ground in long, streaky marks...as if a body had been dragged.

"...Gott...what if the person is injured?" This of course, made him speed all he could towards the person, long gone into the fog, "Wait! I see that you're injured- just let me help you!" Oh, there it was! He could faintly see the strange shadow in the murky distance, "Sir- or ma'am! Please wait up, I might be of some help!" He ran towards the figure, which showed some signs of stopping, but not by much, "...So persistent..." He sighed, stopping down to a fast walk, he had to help out anymore people that were in this town- there were various long streaks of blood on the floor- the person could die if he doesn't help, "Please! Just let me-" Something shiny caught his eye, and he turned around to find a bottle filled with red liquid, right inside a fenced in area, "...I wonder what that is..." Shrugging off the person, he ran over and forcefully opened the gate, closing it behind him, "Hn..." He said while moving towards the table and bottle, "...Is that an envelope?" Germany quickly grabbed it, and tore it open.

_'You should be careful, you just got a red envelope.'_

That damn voice- "I swear I'm going to strangle you." He went back to reaching inside the envelope, pulling out the contents, "...A letter! I wonder who's it is..." He looked it over, finding his name on it. Weird. Ludwig opened it anyways, "...Welcome to Sanctuary, Ludwig." So he was in this town, great, he finally made it to this place, "I remember when you brutally killed millions upon millions of poor...defenseless...people..." He stopped reading it out loud, preferring to not hear himself say those words, 'In the...holocaust. In punishment for your sins, you will stay in Sanctuary and atone for all of your wrongdoings you caused over those years, for the people who's lives you ruined and killed. For the people of whom you robbed their innocence...You have been condemned to Sanctuary until you learn he truth.' He sauntered back, "What? I was sent to a town with dangerous gases present? I'm sure that's not much of a punishment- besides eventually dying of over exposure to the...things in this town." Without giving it anymore thought, he crumpled the note and began to search the other things.

"...Do you know what this bottle is? It looks strange..."

'_It's blood, what else do you think it is? You should probably drink it though, there aren't many of those- I'm sure it was just a farewell gift from him. God is always so merciful, isn't he?_'

"Why would I drink bottled blood? That's disgusting-"

'_It's not blood you can find all over the streets- It's God's blood, it makes sure you don't die nearly as fast. You usually use it when you've lost a lot of blood or when your seriously injured. You have enough for a whole day here.'_

"...If that's true, I'll try some...just a few drops or something...this is revolting- where do you get bottled blood? I'm making this illegal as soon as I get back home."

'_You can't leave this place._'

"Shut it. I can leave if I want to." Ignoring the voice once again, he took a small sip from the bottle and nearly gagged from the iron rich taste of it, "This...it's disgusting...it's like a mix of iron and damn sugar. Ugh." He closed the bottle back up and placed it in his vest, sort of keeping it safe, "Alright, now I have to go help that person." He ran out of the fence and towards the trail of blood left behind. All he hoped was that it wasn't too late to help this person and...maybe the blood would work on them too? He'll just have to see for himself. With no further ado he trailed after the shadow he had seen. Maybe it had ran into that...what is that, "Is this a construction site? There's wood and concrete blocking the whole entrance..." He slowly walked towards it, trying to look around the concrete at the huddled figure in the corner.

'..._You shouldn't get close-_'

"Shut it, you-"

_Creak. Sob._

_Sniffle, sniffle._

"Gott...someone's really in there-" Germany jumped up onto the concrete, removing some of the hard wood nailed onto the large hole in the wall, "Wait! Please, just let me help you- I won't do anything to hurt you- I even have some...medicine?" He shouted over, faintly hearing the figure gasp and scuttle away, "Wait- I swear to God I won't hurt you!"

_'Fucking German kraut- get the hell away from there! I'm fucking warning you not to go near the damn-'_

"Wait! Damn...I swear I heard something-" He finished removing the pieces of wood and entered into the darkness within, "H-hello? Excuse me, please just let me help you- I swear I'm not trying to harm you..." That's when he saw it, the person he had been chasing came out of the darkness and close enough for Ludwig to see him, "...Japan?" He walked a bit closer, but stopped remembering what happened before, "...You're a fake aren't you? The real Japan is dead. What the hell are you?" He shouted, trying to get some answers from the copy.

A few more sniffles and sobs, _'Germany...Ludwig...' _Kiku looked up, eyes brimming with tears, _'Help me...please...I'm hurt.' _He removed the hand from his chest, revealing a large, gaping hole in the place of his heart, showing the broken bone and beating heart, _'I'm right in front of you...you're not going to help me?...Please...Ludwig, help me...I'm just a few feet away and you don't even bother-'_

"Stop!" He shouted, nearly growling, "You're lying! You brought me here didn't you? You damn attacked me- I was going to help you and then you decide to...to do something strange and knock me out! I can't believe anything you say anymore, Japan!" He stopped, deeply heaving, trying to make his anger go away, he didn't want anything to happen, "Why the hell are you doing this? And who are you? I just want some answers that aren't lies dammit!" He unknowingly took a step closer.

_'...Ludwig...calm down, I am Japan...I'm telling you the truth-' _He took a step closer and was quickly stopped by the German man's shouting.

"No! You're lying! Everything is a damn lie! You're just wanting me dead, aren't you?" He screamed, charging towards the Asian and grabbing him by the collar, which sort of burned, "Now tell me! I swear I'll kill you if-"

_'Damn, Germany...so this is how you were back in the days? Is this what you did to all those other people too? Yeah, I'm sure of it.'_

..."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He put the other back down, inching away from him a bit, wondering what the hell had just happened, "...But please...tell me what's going on."

_'You lied to me, Ludwig...you said you wouldn't hurt me...you're a sinner.'_

"Japan- listen to me!"

_'Sinner. Liar. Deceiver. Killer...' _He continued, _'Here I thought you might have a chance at heading back, I was wrong. I was too merciful.'_

"...Japan...what are you-"

-/Sanctuary\-

"Vee! Germany! England! England! He's up- what do we do now?" Jumped Italy, hugging the stiff German man, before jumping off and gathering England.

"I can see him clearly from here, Italy. There is no need to tell me- I can see him right there and..." Arthur stopped, staring at the German, "...Is he alright, Italy? He looks...Ill." Muttered England when he saw how pale and scared the other looked.

Italy turned, looking at Ludwig, who held himself and looked down, not speaking, "Vee...Ludwig? Are you okay?" He walked over, but stopped once he saw what the German pulled out, "...L-Ludwig? You...you should be careful with- Ludwig!" He screamed, watching as the other man pointed the gun straight at himself, his eyes looking uncaring and hazed over, "No! Ludwig!" He yelled, trying to get the gun away from the German man.

As soon as Germany saw this he stood above him and placed his finger on the trigger, smirking slightly before he shot.

_Click._

_Boom._

_Splat._

"Ludwig!"

"Oh god..." England covered his mouth, holding back the puke from seeing the gore covering the window and staining the whiteness of the room, "...Italy? Italy, come here...you can't stay looking at that." Arthur grabbed the stunned Italians arm and pulled him away from the scene, "Move, Italy. We have to get the nurses and-"

"Why?"

England stopped, "...What?" He waited for a response from the shaky Italian, taking quite a while for him to answer.

Italy bit back a sob, "W-why did he have to- to do that...right in front of m-me..." He felt a wetness on his cheek, but didn't bother wiping away the tear, "...Why would he do that? D-did I do something w-wrong?" He cried, "I...I didn't mean to be so useless! I...I..."

"Calm down, Italy. Let's get out, you shouldn't be looking at this." He whispered, pulling out the sobbing Italian and closing the door behind them, not looking back.

…

Silence loomed in the room until, "...Are they gone?" Whispered Ludwig's bleeding body.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Great." A static-filled figure shifted out of the German's body, it's ghost like appearance sending slight jolts of electric currents through the German's twitching body, "...Alfred..." He turned to look around at the other, "...What are you doing here?"

"...Just helping you out...can't I do that?" He smiled, walking closer to the figure, helping him completely out of the bleeding body, "Can't I return the favor?"

Kiku stood still for a moment, "...I'm not sure..." He looked straight at the American, "...Can I trust you enough, sinner?" He almost sneered out the last word, giving the taller man a small, dirty look for a fraction of a second before he returned back to his expressionless one.

Alfred looked at the other with a strange look, "...You still call me that? What the hell do I have to do to make you shut the hell up with that already?" He covered his mouth, "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to cuss in front of you."

"Leave, sinner, I don't want anything to do with you."

"...Forget it." He moved his hand like he was swiping something away, "Can't you just shut up with the whole 'sinner' thing already?"

The apparition of Kiku looked over and glared, "I will send you to the Olace if you don't-"

"Who gives a shit for the Olace? They're just a crazy bunch of devil worshiping freaks with no sense of humanity!"

Japan shifted a hand and quieted the nation's copy, "You will be quiet under my presence, Alfred." He snapped, having God be insulted so heinously was blasphemy.

He stopped, having a calmer complexion, but still a slightly stern look over his face, "...You changed...you're not even Kiku anymore-" He cut off before continuing in the same, but harsher tone, "What the hell did he do to you-?" A sharp slap echoed around the room, stunning him for just a second before he looked back at the other figure with shock clearly written across his features.

"Don't you dare insult God." Kiku looked over, glaring at the human clone.

"I _am_ your damn-" The next thing he knew, he was writhing on the floor in pain, clutching his head from the throbbing nuisance.

"You're NOTHING like him!" Kiku yelled, rage filling his very soul at what the other was implying, even if it might be the truth, but calmed down once he saw the other in writhing pain, wincing when he noticed what he'd done to the younger nation, "...I suggest you behave, Alfred." With that he gently grazed a hand over the doppelgangers head, eliminating the disturbance he caused.

"...Yes, sir." He whispered, not looking at the other.

Kiku walked out of the room, not looking back at the other as he disappeared in a flash, leaving behind the nations and the pain.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

As Alfred reached the top, he was confronted with a lot of dust, and a locked door, "Well, shit. The hell am I supposed to do now?" He frowned, before turning to his right where something caught his eye, "...Is that a hole in the wall?" He stalked towards it, eyeing it carefully before deciding to investigate it further. He landed his ocean blue eyes on the hole, trying to look inside it with his limited vision to no avail...but there was something shiny in there- it looked like something metallic...is he really that desperate to do it? Yes he is, "Should I really stick my hand in some unknown hole in a wall? It could pull me the fuck in." He paused momentarily, before slowly and nervously slipping his hand inside, trying to reach the object he had seen.

_Bang_.

"Son of a bitch-!" He tried pulling his arm out, pushing against the wall to free himself, "Oh god- Oh god-" Was all he could muster as his arm could not be released, he should stop doing risky things like this. In one swift movement he felt it- there was something dripping from the ceiling onto the back of his neck, "..." Alfred slowly moved his free hand, touching the liquid substance on his neck, what the hell was this? Was it...oh god...it _was_. He looked up and nearly gagged.

Above his head was a strange creature, it looked like it was covered in various layers of patched up skin and leather. It's whole body and face was covered, everything but one single spot on it's face. The mouth. Not just any fucking mouth, it stretched _over_ the things head, razor sharp teeth lining the 'lips' of the creature, making it look slightly more intimidating. That things arms were also covered by some strange...thing. It looked like large, pulsating veins on the outside of it's skin, along with the strange absence of legs, instead opting for the same vine-like things under its waist, helping it hover above the ceiling- where it was eating another person, mind you, and it was dripping all over _his_ head. The last time he checked, he didn't like blood poured on him.

This time he truly struggled against the restraint on his arm, "Move, dammit! MOVE!"

_Crack._

Yes! He managed to get his arm loose enough to snatch it out before anything horrible happened. He swore he felt something sharp in there, anyways, he had gotten the key, so it didn't matter much. Without any thoughts but to run, he quickly unlocked the door and ran in before the creature could get him. He was panting, harshly, from the small amount of adrenaline forced out of him, making his pulse ten times faster and his senses much more alert, "...That was way too close." Luckily he still had the machete, wait...if he had a damn weapon why the hell did he run?

That's not heroic. At all.

He sighed and got a good look around the room, noting quite a few strange things. Like for example, the single rotting chair in the center of the room, eerily looking back at him like it was expecting something. What was up with the chairs? Anyways, he started to walk towards the chair, happily noticing there was another key there, and he quickly snatched it, reading the small text on it. Great, now he had the key to that weird door in the cellar. All he had to do was head back. He grabbed the machete hard, keeping himself alert as he threw the door open and looked in all directions to find it safe, then he ran out, down every agonizing stair step and right before the door, which he quickly opened and dived in.

"I made it!" He cheered, quickly stepping down and heading straight towards the door, pushing in the key and hearing a soft 'click' before it opened wide. Alfred peeked in, finding it as dark as you could get, "...I might need a flashlight." He looked back into the room, but didn't find any sort of light source, besides a small lighter..."I...guess that could work...kinda." He snatched it up and jumped into the dark, filth covered corridor. He looked both way, finding it a little discouraging how he couldn't see five feet in front of him, "...But I have tog get Kiku..." With a gulp, he walked towards the left, not especially sure about the direction, but heading anyways, quickly vanishing into the darkness surrounding him and the small fire.

+/.:!}Sanctuary{!:.\\+

Hello there my dear readers! Someone asked me to shorten it- so I did. I hope it doesn't bother any of you guys...I'll try to keep my chapters as short as I can do...which will always be above 3,000 words. Hurr, I also kinda forgot- but I think I should have put this at the top.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=- (=) Those mean it's switching to another character. :D Those are also my borders because I noticed that the borders I added before didn't show up on this thing...they're also large time skips.

-/Sanctuary\- (=) This is for short time skips. Or a short border for the same character, where only the surroundings change, but the character mentioned before is still there.

+/.:!}Sanctuary{!:.\\+ (=) This is for me! These are my authors notes, which I will always place at the bottom.

Anyways, if your curious about some of the things mentioned. I might add small descriptions for them- but the descriptions will come up in chapters, so I don't think it's really needed. Also, please ask if you want translations that way nobody is confused!

See you next time! Also, please review. ;-; If you don't I might abandon this story and completely delete it or forget about it. I really, really don't want to do that. It really hurts my heart. XD

And again! If you guys want to offer any sort of help for the story, please just tell me! I'll add anything in the story to make it more horrific and terrifying...or suspenseful? I dunno, I don't really find it either of those- I find it kinda funny. Also, who should I kill next? :D

If you guys are wondering about the other stuff...like when the hell are Romano and Spain coming into the picture...*cough*church*cough* you'll have to wait a few chapters...just a little bit. Who wants me to torture Italy? Or torture England with some stuff?


	5. Chapter 5

Sanctuary

Chapter 5

Alfred looked around the seemingly endless corridor, watching as the fire illuminated the cracked, brick walls of the large underground tunnel, various leaks running down the walls, making dark puddles on the floor, much too dark to be water. He cringed at the foul stench in the air, before continuing to walk further down the tunnel, not fearing the darkness surrounding his light like a blanket shielding your eyes. He took the steps cautiously, jumping at the slightest noise as it was eerily quiet in the space before him, so deathly quiet it was nearly deafening, much too silent for the world to be this quiet, not even the slight drips of the liquid made noise.

The sudden step into the substance startled him, making him jump in surprise as the splash nearly resonated through the chamber, he had every right to be jumpy in hell. He cleared his throat, continuing to walk, his thoughts not able to reach very far to him, all ending once he saw the slightest movement that his mind made up, or was actually there, which scared him to death, he couldn't ever get used to a place like this, he wouldn't be human if he got used to it. A groan and he sighed, frustrated in his lack of sight and the foreshadowing nearly drenching his thoughts, constantly screaming; something's coming!

He fought off the urge to run, not wanting to attract anything but his arrival, "...Damn..." He muttered, watching as the only light source available to him flickered the deeper he went into the corridor, running nearly endlessly for who knows how long? It seemed much too far, his legs were going to have to strain to walk for themselves if this place got any longer. Sadly, even after what seemed to be hours; honestly he didn't know. There was never a sun, no change in time, no proper way of knowing if the clock ticking by was right, it was as if there was no such thing as time. He was forever frozen in a part of history he didn't want anything to do this, it was forcefully chaining him down to the hell called Sanctuary.

A few more minutes in, and he was beginning to grow terrified as a reoccurring sound reached his ears, sounding like a hollow thud of a drum resonating through his mind, coming from nowhere, yet everywhere, it was frightening. It echoed with the scary tone of a heart monitor, racing at the same pace his was, tormenting him further, hyperventilating at the pure fear running through his veins like a wild fire, running, running i_away_/i.

_Thud._

_Thud._

_Thud._

The drumming went along as his heart slowed to an unhealthy pace, as if the time he was hoping for was mocking him with a twisted way of it's humor, slowing to torture him all the more. His eyes dilating with every sharp pound of the murderous noise, shaking at the moment of anguish. The noise growing softer, turning into the clinking and clashing of chains, the repetitive sound of metal against metal, like the sounds of an empty prison with the vengeful ghosts trapped in its cages forever, rattling at it like life depended on it. Breathing in, deep intakes of air, trying not to falter under the horrifying noises, and everything went as quiet as it was before.

"Run." Whispered the voice, the breath tickling at his ears.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Germany opened his eyes, dizzily looking up at the sky above him, his disoriented eyesight was trying its hardest to focus on the sights surrounding them, only able to fall upon the large, mansion-like building, slowly clearing through his vision, sending tremors of shock through him. He shakily lifted himself up, forcing his feet to work as they wobbly straightened out, sending slight pain up the Germans system, making him cringe at the pounding headache, "...What's going on here...?" He asked no-one, before harshly trying to look up at the building, standing well above five stories high and practically littered with beautiful paintings and murals, showing off delicately designed and skillfully painted art.

"...There's...a church in this hell?" He ground out, feeling slightly insulted by the fact there was a holy place in such a town filled with nightmarish evil, "...This place is horrendous." He whispered under his breath, before setting his sights on lower ground, where he saw nothing more than broken slabs of foundation for the building, piles of rubble dusting over the once clear ground, covering it like the aftermath of a battlefield. Ludwig sighed, placing a stern hand on his hip as he stared at the towers of the gargantuan church, still holding up the beautifully crafted carving and crosses at the top of each peak, so high up even the most stubborn vines couldn't reach its lengths.

He stayed in the same position for a few moments longer, wondering if he should head to the gigantic mass of art, "...I don't know what's in that place." He mumbled to himself, "...Then again, what could possibly be in a church...it should be a safe place, right?" He took a long, shaky breath, dragging it on for longer than he should have, running a hand through his now dirtied blonde hair, "...Verdammt. I'm not even sure what to do right now..."

_'Leave the church. Don't go to it.'_

Germany turned, baffled by the voice again, "...Why shouldn't I go? What will happen?" He asked the thin air, confused by its antics.

_'Because I said so, you son of a bitch!' _Growled the voice, anger clearly evident in his tone.

"...Is something in it?" He asked again.

_'Yes, but I don't want you there, remember the last time I told you not to do something? Now move it!'_ He barked, anger wearing thin.

The tall German stared at the church for a bit longer, before turning back to the small town, "...I guess I should head to a store...see if I can find anything." He heard the faint chuckle of the voice, before it disappeared altogether, "This town isn't normal...I should probably find a way to defend myself..." That's when his fighting skills came in handy. Without any further disturbances, he wrenched off a piece of what seemed like metal from one of the broken slabs, thinking it would be a good weapon, before heading into the silent Sanctuary.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

England stood seated in the meeting room, only the remaining three present, Italy, China and himself. He looked over at the emotionless Italian, sitting blankly in his seat, doing paperwork he had never done before, suddenly taking an interest to it, almost as if it was his life, "...Italy?" He asked aloud, receiving nothing in response, "...Italy." Still nothing, "...Feliciano?" He asked more sternly, making the small Italian look up.

"O-oh...hello, England." He said, sounding emotionless, almost like the life was sucked out of him, leaving behind a cold and empty shell. His dulled eyes looked back to the floor, "...Do you need anything?" He mumbled quietly.

"...Are you alright...? You haven't been acting quite right ever since..." He stopped the sentence, not wanting to hurt the Italian anymore than he already was, "...You shouldn't keep this up...you'll get something." He mumbled quietly to the other stoic Italian, who was still not quite into their conversation.

"...I'm fine, England...I'm just a bit...sad...?" He whispered quietly once again.

The Brit walked over to Feliciano, "...It's going to be alright, Italy. You can't stay sad forever, it's been a month, I'm sure he wouldn't want to see you like this." He tried to comfort the other, who had started to sniffle lightly.

Italy hung onto the Englishman's shirt, "...I-I can't help it, England...it just hurts so much...I can't handle it..." He whimpered, hugging the shocked Brit, holding him like a lifeline, "It hurts so much! They won't leave me alone, Arthur- I can't take much more, I think I'm going insane!" He cried, looking at the man desperately, "_Help me._" He whispered out harshly, the horrid, hopeless look he had in his eyes, bags already taking over, eyes completely bloodshot, looking as if he was loosing it. Which he was.

"Calm down, Italy...I'll try to help as much as possible, but I'm not sure how much I can do, I can't find out much about the place Alfred talked about. There's nothing for it except tracing the line again." Even though the American imposter had laughed at his face when he said that, "I can't promise anything, Italy...but I swear I'll try...just please, get some rest." He whispered, looking at the disheveled nation, he was pretty sure he hadn't been taking care of himself either, looking at his hollowing body.

"...I can't, Arthur...my dreams-" He looked behind him frantically, as if expecting someone to be there, "...They're haunting me now! I can't live right- they keep laughing and mocking- oh, mio dio, I can't fucking take it!" He shouted, once again startling the Brit.

"Feliciano, calm down, I'll make sure whoever is bothering you stops, alright?" He asked the other quietly, who was once again staring at the floor blankly.

The Italian fiddled with his fingers for a moment, "...Okay, England." He smiled at the other, thinking something completely different, '_He doesn't have a clue what I mean...does he?_' He walked away, in the direction of the door, leaving the Englishman, when he heard a call as to where he was going, "...I'm heading to the bathroom." He smiled, walking away calmly once more, closing the door quietly behind him. He took the cautious steps to the restroom, hearing his boots clicking against the tiled floor, not at all minding the annoying shuffling of his pants, or the way his hair got in his face. He turned a corner and approached the restroom, opening the door, slipping inside and locking the metallic handle behind him, slowly slipping the blade out of his sleeve, where he's been hiding it for the past week.

Already at the sink, he leaned onto it, making sure he didn't put much pressure, before hesitantly, looking up at himself. His cheeks were hollowed, his eyes looked dull and hopelessly lost, bags were dark and completely invading his eyes, his _bloodshot_ eyes. His once perfectly rosy and soft lips were now chapped and cracked, hard to the touch, as well as his skin, now turning even paler than Japan's was, "...Who are you?" He asked the mirror self.

The reflection said nothing, but stared back at him.

"...Why do you look at me like that?" He asked again, not getting an answer.

It stared back, giving him a creepy sensation up his spine, causing chills all over his body, "...What do you want?" Still, not an answer. He glared at the mirror, tightening his grip on the knife, "Answer me!" He hissed, not even noticing how much darker the room had become, or how the reflection was slowly changing, without following his movement at all, only staring at him with a dulled, blank look, "...W-who are you, dammit?" He paused for a moment, glaring down at the weapon in his hands, before lifting it up above his shoulder and smashing the glass, causing a loud shatter of reflection sprawled across the floor, showing himself, panting harshly at the force of the hit, crying because of the glass that continued to stare at him from the floor, "Stop looking at me!" He shouted, clutching his hair tightly with balled up fists.

He heard that same resounding laughter, mocking him with its likeness of himself, laughing as he quickly went deeper into the hell, dragging him down, into the wells filled with dead bodies, '_...Do it!_' It shouted, still smiling, '_You're not worth anything! It's not like someone cares!_' It laughed in a nearly hysterical way, '_He- he died because of you!_'

"No he didn't!" Sobbed the trembling Italian, knife still clutched tightly in his hands, "It wasn't my fault!" He shouted, falling to the floor, not taking notice of the glass sinking into his skin, his pants were now cut up and bloodied, "I-it..." He choked, "...wasn't my f-fault..." Came more whimpers from the broken Italian's shaking body.

Then the silence set in. The room darkening further as the lights flashed in an eerie manner, before fading out completely, one by one making it to the location of the crying Italian, before stopping over him and continuing to flicker, but didn't fade like the rest of them. Instead, it stayed hovering over the Italian like a safety light, except it was doing the opposite of protecting the frightened man. The room darkened even more, the walls slightly peeling away to show some strange metal work behind them, along with strange colored rust and blood drenching every crevice in the floor. Leaving the whole room untouched.

_'...I know...you didn't do anything wrong, Feliciano.' _Whispered an almost angelic sounding voice, seeming to come from the mirror he destroyed.

Feliciano looked up, around him, and below him, trying to see where the voice came from; all while trying to take in his surroundings. Only a strange force was keeping him from falling down into an endless depth, incinerating fire could be seen at the bottom of all the metalwork, looking like an old, abandoned and broken down building, "...W-what is this?" He whispered aloud to himself, slowly reaching an arm out and pushing himself up to his shaky feet, "...H-hello?" He whispered, now noticing his mirror was the only one unbroken, looking cleaner than the rest of the room, which seemed almost scary, looking so normal in such a disgusting place, "...What happened?" He asked again, not getting a response.

_'Don't worry, Feliciano. It's nothing to be scared of.'_ Whispered the voice again, a strange wisp of darkness spiraled around the Italian man, who was observantly looking at the mirror, which was illuminated by a strange, bright light, making it nearly impossible to see the persons features.

"...W-who are y-you?" He tried to look closer into the mirror, still not gaining anything from it but a small glance at the background.

The voice chuckled slightly, _'That's not currently important...all you have to know is that I'm here to help you with your...demons.' _ The voice snarled out accidentally, detesting the word with every fiber of his being.

Italy shrunk back from the hateful tone, "...What demons...?"

_'Ah...Feliciano. I know what haunts you...those horrid voices right?'_ Italy nodded, _'Those things are the demons...I just want to help you. You want to get rid of them, no?'_ Smiled the voice, but wasn't visible.

"Yes!" The desperate voice of the Italian came back, full force, "Please- get rid of them!" He begged, almost getting on his knees again, "Please! What do I have to do to get rid of them?"

_'Calm down, Feliciano. The only thing you have to do, is pray...don't surround yourself with those evil ones around you. All they do is bring more demons, what you need to do is preach and pray our good deeds to the world...you love God, yes?'_ Eagerly said the voice.

"Si!" He accidentally slipped back into his native tongue, "I love him- is he going to help me? I've been good all my life!" That was a lie, but he was desperately in need of help.

Again, the voice chuckled, _'I see you love him very deeply, don't worry...he loves you too.' _The voice chuckled, _'I love God very deeply too. Remember though...don't disrespect our Father, Feliciano. Don't disrespect any aspect of him. He's our creator, and what he says goes.' _Harshly indicated the voice, not leaving any room for an unneeded argument.

"I won't! I'll follow everything our Father and you yourself say! Please- just make them go away!" He cried, about to touch the mirror before-

_'Don't touch it!'_ Shouted back the voice, _'...Do you want to die so soon? This is only a glimpse of what's to come after your death, Feliciano...'_

The Italian looked at the mirror again, seeing nothing but the white light, "...Is...is it heaven?" He questioned lovingly, wanting it to feel so nice and warm as the light illuminated.

_'...Even better, it's Sanctuary, Feliciano. You will be rewarded with Sanctuary.'_ Smiled the voice, extending an arm out to him from the mirror, which still glowed brightly, _'...Touch my hand...keep my promise and you will be saved, child.'_

Feliciano immediately touched the hand, feeling nothing but an overwhelming sense of...something indescribable. The last thing he remembered was a smiling face of a very, very familiar person.

-/Sanctuary\-

Once he woke up, he was feeling rejuvenated, full of purity, life, and happiness, "...This feels amazing!" He shouted, smiling brightly and throwing his hands up in the air, one of which was carrying a strange looking bible. He hugged it close to his chest, pounding with an indescribably feeling of overwhelming _perfection_. Feliciano sighed and laughed loudly, "...I love this! I love it so much!" He gazed at the book lovingly, giving it a kiss on either side, just like he would greet a friend or family. Then he noticed it, he seemed to...glow slightly...he was emitting a small wave of pulsating light from himself, looking about as crystal white as the purest holy water out there.

Walking over to the broken mirror he turned to face into it, looking at his own reflection, looking exactly like the him he had seen earlier, unmoving to his actions, but this time, he looked like his own walking corpse. The skin was rotting away, tinted a gross gray color with decay and dirt, his mouth hung slightly open, blood bubbling out o it with some strange bugs slowly crawling in and out as his copy looked up at the ceiling, no eyes to be found, only bloodied black holes where his eyes were at. His clothes were completely covered in grime and blood, torn into shreds and barely hanging off his skeletal body, showing the black organs and bones, dried up and dead, void of any life.

He covered his mouth and stepped back in horror, eyes dilating to show exactly how terrified he was, shaking just like his body was...he could feel vomit coming up, he held it back, and forced himself to believe it was just a distorted image from the broken mirror. Turning to the other, he felt relieved, now looking just like he saw himself, skin glowing, eyes shining brightly, hair luscious and strong. He reached the window, touching it slightly, "...I look...beautiful..." He whispered, then noticed the area he touched turning into small, golden flakes, "...What...?" He looked at his hands again and smiled, tears prickling at his eyes, "...I love this...I love this..." He really did. The absolute perfection, the beauty, the life, the _purity _of the whole situation. It was divine intervention.

With a smile, he ran out of the restroom, leaving behind the knife, and the delusions he had just experienced.

The fast-paced clicks of his heels dragged on through the building as he ran towards the meeting room, "Guys!" He shouted, bursting the door open, "Guys- look!" He smiled, running into the center of the room, "Isn't this amazing?"

The others stared at him like he was insane, especially the confused Brit, who had just witnessed the other depressed out of his mind, "...Look at what, Italy?" He mumbled, not noticing the interesting changes in the other.

"Can't you see?" Strained the Italian, showing off even more of his glowing form, "I've been touched by the hand of God, England!" He whispered out with a nearly crazed tone, "That's not all I can do!" He smiled, walking over to the table, "Look!" He shouted, touching the table, which was slowly turning into large, blocks of gold, transforming the table into one giant glorious metal.

The British man looked strangely at the Italian, before watching as the table instantaneously turned into pieces of gold, some sprinkling to the floor in flakes, even China was watching, amazed by the sight, "...Italy...h-how are you doing this?" He looked up, to see the Italian had this strange ring around his head, emitting like an overwhelmingly bright light, looking like a halo. Arthur's jaw nearly dropped at the luminosity the other emitted, "...Italy...what's going on?"

"I've been touched by God, England!" He smiled, showing him the demonic looking bible, "See? Look at it!...It's beautiful..."He sighed, rubbing the cover against his face, which emitted light, golden sparkles. "...So beautiful..."

England looked at the sight with the same expression China held, complete and utter shock at the sight before them, "...A-aiyah...how is this possible?" He heard the larger nation yell as he got up from his table and ran out of the room, mumbling incoherent things to himself. With an arched brow, he walked over to the Italian, who was still nuzzling the piece of paper, "...Feliciano...how did this happen? How were you touched by the hand of...God?" He nearly chuckled at himself.

"I can't tell you...the other guy told me not to tell people like you..." He tried not to sneer as he said it, "...He was so nice...he told me if I did exactly as he said...he would take them away..."

"...Take who away?"

"...The voices, England..." He smiled, still speaking, not finding anything about that strange at all.

The island nation looked even more surprised, "...What voices, Italy?"

The young nation shrugged, "I don't know who they were...they were just...there...in my mind." He pointed to his head and placed the hand back down, before smiling giddily, "I have to tell Lovino! He would love to hear this!" Without listening to another word from England, he ran out of the room, into the hallway and ran over to his own room, not letting go of the book, "I have to call Lovino!" He reached for his abandoned cell phone, before it was magically pushed away, as if by some invisible force.

"...W-what's happening?" He asked, voice puzzled beyond belief, again, he tried to reach for the phone, but it was once again, slammed away from him, "...Why?"

_'Don't talk to him, Feliciano...we're already helping him.'_

"Y-you are...?" Asked the wary Italian, "...Why my fratello, as well? What's wrong with him?"

_'There was nothing wrong with him, Feliciano...we're just taking him to Sanctuary with us...all we want is for you two to be happy...'_

Italy smiled, "...Happy...?" There was no response, but he drifted away and took that as a yes.

-=::..::*(Sanctuary)*::..::=-

Germany walked through the empty streets once again, listening to the steady beat of his heart and his constant breathing. Keeping himself alert for anything else that might happen, "...I...I wonder what happened here..." He spoke, after a while of silence and blind wandering through the streets, "...I wonder why I'm here..." Brushing back his hair, he sighed, looking up at the cloudy sky, deeply contemplating the thoughts, "...What am I doing here in the first place?" He understood the things Japan's copy had told him, but he didn't get anything at the same time. This town was confusing, and so littered with secrets.

He turned the foggy corner, pipe still clutched tightly in his hand, "...What?" He turned over, looking for that strange noise he just heard, "...Hello...?" He whispered again, looking back at the direction he was coming from.

_Step._

_Step._

_Step._

Was heard through the street as Ludwig turned once more turned, but this time it was forward, where he saw a shadow figure once more, running across the streets in some strange, decently cleaned tunic-like dress. Germany looked over, trying to see what was going on, "...I...Italy?" He shouted, running over to the retreating object, "Italy!" He shouted again, running after the quick-paced Italian.

The figure didn't even seem to encourage his presence, instead heading into a building and disappearing behind the dusty windows. The blond nation quickly heading after him, "Italy!" He threw the door open, finding the shadow of the other retreating down a flight of stairs, "Italy, wait! Stop running!" All that did was encourage the other to run faster, "Wait, dammit!"

Still nothing, now the Italian was long gone, leaving Germany abandoned on the darkening staircase, who was smart enough to know he shouldn't head down there...but he could have sworn it was Italy that he saw, "...Feliciano?" He screamed down the staircase, but was unable to even hear his own voice's sound as it ran down the stair as well. Treading back up, he headed behind the counter of the unknown store. There had to be a weapon around here, what store would stay unprotected...? Again he looked, finally finding something more useful than his pipe, "...A handgun. Finally, I got something that works." He smiled, cocking the handgun, dropping the pipe and heading back down the stairs gun already knowingly loaded, "I should be much safer with this."

Then again, the idea Italy could be something like Japan never slipped through his mind.

He ran down the stair, before coming to a halt, finding it hard to see, "...Verdammt..." He cursed, looking around for any other source of light, only to find none. He still continued on, determined to find the other, "Hello?" He shouted, still not hearing anything but a strange, low hum, "...Italy?" Again, no answer, or anything at all, "Italy!" He tried again, but still, while trying to look through the pitch black darkness, where he couldn't even see himself, "...What is going on?" He stopped, unsure if he should continue on the way he was right now. He decided against staying, instead, heading all the way up to where he came from, following the light emitted from the door. He stepped out and sighed, walking away from the door.

A sharp, shrill scream suddenly erupted from the area he had come from, followed by more blood-curdling screams and a gruesome sound of flesh being ripped apart.

Ludwig had to hold down whatever contents were in his empty stomach, he couldn't help it, the sounds were just...so horrifying it didn't even sound real. He was sure not even hell itself had screams that terrifying, nothing even close, "...Hell...what was that?" He whispered hoarsely, his voice seeming to have died right there. Then he thought back on it, it was a good thing he didn't head in there...but what about Italy?...That scream didn't sound like anything remotely close to Italy's. He wondered who had it come from...was there other people hiding down there? We're there more people at all...? "...I wonder if there's someone else..." He whispered quietly, noticing the thick, heavy Silence in the air.


	6. Chapter 6

Sanctuary

Chapter 6

England sat on the leather chair right before the computer in the meeting room, completely at a standstill for the moment, "...I can't find a bloody link- not a single damn clue!" He hissed, clenching his fists to keep his anger from coming over him, "...I have to find a way to help Alfred...I don't understand why this...I just _don't understand_..." He whispered somberly, crashing back into his chair with stubborn frown on his face, "I can't find a bloody way to help him!" He cried, throwing his hands up in the air.

Relaxing slightly, he rested his head back and thought deeply on the subject, 'That bastard copy said it was inaccessible, but then how did the camera view get here? It made no sense...' His emerald green eyes looked back at the screen, staring it down like a hawk, "...I'm bloody stupid for doing this..." He mumbled, quickly clicking the search button once more, in hopes it would actually be able to trace the signal back to the original source, with good luck he might achieve that.

After a few moments of mindless searching and a few beeps of the computer, it finally accessed the video once more, showing a screaming Alfred, bloodied up and crying with dirt smeared along his pale body, "...This is just the normal video though, what else can I do?" He mindlessly mumbled, fidgeting and messing with a few other buttons, trying to achieve another trace to the Sanctuary.

_Tsssskk...tsssskk...ttttsssssssssssssssskkkkkk..._

"Oh drat, work you damn-!"

_Traced back to video...view other videos located on drive?_

_Yes._

_Loading. Please wait._

_View?_

_Done._

England smiled a bit to himself, yet still felt worried over the consequences of his actions; he didn't know _what_ would show up exactly- or if someone else was going to appear out of the screen from nowhere, "...Just work you darn old thing, I need to get someone out before I get killed by the damn bloke's clone." He hissed, watching as the video began to go in reverse, zooming right past Alfred, into another video- zooming right past that one as well, and after a few moments, he had already passed what seemed like five very graphic videos of the world beyond.

Tense moments passed as Arthur realized the camera came to a halt, fizzing out at the work it was being forced to do, obviously slowing from how it sped through what might be countless hours of video. With a pounding heart beat and shortened breath, the Brit reached out and clicked the gleaming 'play' button on the screen, bursting it to life.

_Hiss...hiss..._

"_...A-Artie...Artie if you're there, oh god please help me!" Begged another version of Alfred, looking beaten up and bloodied, a depressive and desperate look in his eyes, "Arthur, please help me!..." He cried, beginning to sob, "I...I killed him.." He whispered with a small whimper, "...I killed Kiku...I'm so sorry...I'm so...so sorry..." He breathed out, a few of his tears running down his face and leaping to the dirt ground beneath him in the dark, eerie background, before his delusional mind began talking to who seemed to be Kiku, or at least trying to in some way gain forgiveness from Arthur who was still alive from his actions of killing Kiku, "...I miss you...I love you...I'm sorry I ever did that...I just..." He sighed, "I don't know what came over me..." He cried, showing vast weakness._

England looked at the screen intensely, wondering if this was the actual Alfred or just something different playing on screen.

"_...Kiku..." He sobbed, looking straight at the camera as something crawled and slithered behind him, slowly approaching the unaware man, "...Kiku, I love you." He whispered, not paying any attention to the thing sneaking up behind him, slowly coming into the light and revealing razor sharp teeth, pointed out and long, much too large to fit in its constantly open, elongated mouth._

"Alfred." He whispered, "...Alfred, move!" He cried, unsure of what to do; not knowing if this was real, fake, past, or present, "ALFRED!" He screamed into the computer.

_The blond haired man looked at the screen in shock and turned around, gasping and accidentally allowing the camera to drop, "Get away from me!" He screamed, scuttling noises resounding along the floor in the man's attempt to escape from the room he was entrapped in, "GET AWAY!" He screeched, before a loud 'thunk' echoed around the room, followed by a few gruesome noises of flesh being maimed and mutilated, as if being driven into by a hammer or something hard repetitively. Then all there was, was silence for a few moments, before the camera moved once more._

England held his breath, hoping nothing happened to his former colony, whom he was deeply worried for. After a long stretch of silence, he gently called out, "...A-Alfred?"

"_A-Arthur..." Called out a trembling voice, holding up the camera in shaky fingers, his face stained with fierce, red blood of the monster that attacked him, "Arthur..." He whispered out, traumatized he had just brutally killed it, "...Arthur..." He murmured, his frown slowly turning into a demented, absolutely psychotic grin, teeth bearing out sharply at the other, "...Look behind you."_

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Italy landed shaky fingers on the door he was heavily leaning against, breathing out harsh pants while holding a nearly unbelieving face, as if he couldn't comprehend some situation- not like usual. This was completely different, for once he felt...rather...alert of everything around himself. Looking around quickly, both sides and back, he went over to the window, peeking outside of the two story building where he currently resided in, "...Fratello...when are you getting here?" He murmured, asking himself the question as if he was talking directly to his brother.

Quickly closing the binds, he went back to his work; turning towards the frightened man. He was tied to the bed post, gagged and bound with rough, uncaring splintering rope tightly bound around his wrists, legs and waist, completely defenseless to the Italian.

Feliciano smiled at the other crazily, turning it into an angry sneer in less than a second, "...Useless piece of trash!" He hissed, kicking at the others already bruised and abused body, "...How could you not believe in the almighty being?" He screeched, "What will it take for you to believe?" He shouted, knowing fully well the other couldn't respond, "Why aren't you answering me, Yao?"

The gagged man only wailed loudly, not wanting to be kept there any longer, or be beaten by this deranged man, "Stop struggling you imbecile!" He hissed, grabbing a random object- which happened to be his prized vase and slammed it upon the unsuspecting others head, who cried out in pain and shock, falling over limp from the blow he received, leaving him stunned.

"I hope that teaches you not to disrespect the divine, Yao." He hissed, "You don't even deserve to be called that name in my presence, now do you?" He whispered, lowering his eye level to the nearly unconscious man's, who was struggling not to cry and completely give up, "...Speak to me, Yao. Will you talk to me if I remove the gag?" He asked, poking and toying at the piece of cloth between the others singed lips, whom nodded frantically with a desperate look in his eyes, "...Will you revert to the will of God now?" He hissed.

Yao could only nod once more, wanting to be freed oh so badly, his eyes nearly spoke every word for him, 'Please!' He inwardly cried, before feeling the rough gag be replaced from his mouth and hang over his neck, "...I-Italy..." He whimpered, "W-why are you doing this?"

"Why? Because...God's messenger has told me it is the will of God...I shall preach and pray as long as it takes to make him happy; and whatever he says goes." He smiled, "Now...will you preach and pray with me...? Will you revert to God now that you are so close to seeing the light, you may see, but you may not touch." He mumbled, lending over a hand.

Yao stared at it and only nodded, knowing this was just a trick from his see but not touch, "...Y-yes, please, just stop hurting me." He begged, "I want to leave, you've kept me in here for three days already- I want to leave..." He whimpered, trying to convince the other to leave him astray.

"...You shall, only under the condition that God allows it." He mumbled, walking over to the now nearly crystalline bible, gleaming beautifully even in the dark, "I shall be in the back room- don't even try to scream. Nobody can hear outside of this." He motioned to the diamond encased room, "I've made it sound proof just for us." He chuckled, before walking into the backroom and shutting the door behind him. Taking a few steps forward, he found himself in front of a mirror once more, it looked identical to the last one- the one he had broken and shattered into a million tiny pieces of taunting glass.

"...Mio Dio...what should I do with the _Damned_?" He whispered at the mirror, which looked only dull and refused to show himself in the reflection, "He pleas to me that he has changed, shall I let him go if you honestly think he's been truly reverted? I don't want to torture the poor soul any longer...unless necessary by his will..." He breathed out contentedly.

The cracked mirror gave a soft glow as the Italian priest came into contact with it, sending a few morsels of gold tumbling down into the silver faucet, which was made into silver by the said Italian.

_A soft voice chuckled as the mirror glowed a bright incandescent light, radiating what seemed like the heavens behind it, '...My child, Feliciano.' He chided, '...I think he's only agreeing to what you say as a ruse to escape...I think he's lying- and God agrees, my child.' He whispered eerily at the other in the different world._

"You think he's...lying?" He gasped, feeling a bit hurt that the other did not appreciate his efforts into trying to teach him about the will of the lord almighty, "...But I tried so hard..."

_'Sinners never change.' Hissed the voice, continuing the hate filled sentence, '...God is saying that you should kill the man- before he gets to your mind and corrupts it...you know what we do to corrupt souls, don't you?' He asked in a cheery tone, 'Exactly. Now, just follow what we say...understand?' He ended lightly, as if he weren't talking about a person's life._

Feliciano nodded and listened intently, "Of course, I will follow whatever will my lord has for me today." He followed like a puppy awaiting orders from its master, "What shall I do?"

_The voice chuckled and seemed to radiate some strange aura of colors from behind the mirror, '...Offer him to God, dear. Give him to us- alive. Keep him just an inch before death and allow God to clean your sullied hands which carry such a large burden. Such a large, unnecessary burden on your shoulders; just waiting to be lifted.' He laughed lightly, sounding like a thousand holy chimes._

"I...I couldn't bother thy lord in such a way-!"

_'It's not a bother, Feliciano. It's more like the complete opposite.' It chuckled, before continuing its long rant, 'Drain his body off blood as to not dirty the hands of out dear ruler, of course. He will need to be carved with the numbers 116, do you understand? We need him like that, do not worry about the country or people, they will be taught a lesson by God.' He smiled, 'Leave them in our hands, then as you're getting ready to give him to us- you shall rip out of him his intestines for his ignorance.' He laughed, 'Then you may eat him.' He joked._

Italy hesitated, but nodded obediently, "Of course, I will do whatever it is to please my God." He whispered, bowing his head and offering high respect and gratitude.

_'Now Go.'_

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Silence wafted through the fog filled air, polluting the town in an endless blindness of the area. Nothing could be seen through the thick, creeping fog that was almost alive as it pulsated and followed your every move with nonexistent eyes. The inside of the store Ludwig was in was no different than the rest, still hard to see and even darker as it was not illuminated by whatever light source there was outside, "...Maybe..." He muttered, looking down into the abyss, "No that's suicide..." Hi hissed.

_'Too pussy to go inside?' Hissed the voice again, 'For all you know, someone down there knows how to help you.' He chuckled, 'Your choice.'_

"Shut up!" Shouted Germany, pissed at the voices constant nagging, "I will go down there, but only because I have a gun, and I'm desperate." He muttered, loading the gun and switching the safety off, "I just hope you're right, you damn voice." He hissed, trailing closer to the door.

There was no more sound emitted from the other who had spoken, instead shifting back to the eerie silence consuming the room, "I-Italy?" He asked, speaking towards the bottom of the dark room with an elevated heart beat from nervousness, "...Italy are you there?" He yelled, wanting some form of answer.

Yet there was nothing to be heard in the deathly silence below, "...I'm going down now..." He whispered, more to himself than anyone, holding the gun up to his chest as the darkness consumed his descending body, going into the depths of abyss. Boots scratched at the floor caked with dried blood, making strange, scratchy sounds which made the noise seem like something was trailing behind him. As he shakily walked down the concrete stairs, stained with God knows what, he stepped on something that clinked as his boot made contact with the object.

It had to be something made of metal. He bent over, fingers scanning over the floor blindly looking for some sort of object- whatever it was he had stepped on; when it finally grasped the said metallic object. Lifting it to his dull view and softly caressing it to distinguish what it was, he noticed it was a phone...a phone? "...It's a phone!" He shouted out in surprise and joy, before it all quickly turned to horror as the door behind him slammed shut, leaving him stranded in a darkened staircase with whatever monsters were down here.

_Hack._

_Hack, hack._

_Hissssssssssssssssssss..._

_Hissssssss..._

'What in Gott's name was that?' He asked himself, trying to look beyond and be as silent as possible, so as the being wouldn't hear him and do something horrifying to his tremor shaken body.

_Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech..._

_Screeeeeeech..._

_Moan._

_Groan._

Ludwig sighed quietly, hoping the thing didn't hear him as he fumbled with the phone, hoping it would turn on. Fidgeting with the flat screen and missing buttons, he pressed the only one he could feel, which was most likely the power button. After a few moments of eerie silence, the device came to a slow awakening, the screen flaring up in a bright light, which made the German regret ever even turning it on- but of course; he would regret it more once he could see where he was.

Looking around the slightly brightened room, he noticed blood splatters along the wall and large amounts of blood slowly dripping down the stairwell, which was holding many bloodied stubs of hands and arms, mutilated flesh and legs, torn apart and rotting in an isolated room somehow not at all keeping the putrid smell that should have been sensed...or maybe he was just used to it? Either way, it was revolting to come face to face with something this horrifying in an unknown location.

The concrete stairwell was nearly impossible to walk through, due to the massive pile of limbs in front of the Germanic nation, who looked about ready to hurl the nonexistent contents of his stomach, "...What has been going on here? He mumbled lowly, appalled at what he was seeing before his eyes, "This is...it's completely demonic..." He muttered, but shone his light across the room, trying to get a good look at the area he was entrapped within, "...There's a door..."

Indeed there was, a large metallic door closed tightly shut, glowing with the light reflecting across its vast iron clad clamps, rusting away with time and poisonous gases protruding from the ground, "...I can't get over there..." But it might be his only chance to at least get out of this claustrophobic space, surrounding with muck and grime. Ludwig lifted a boot and begrudgingly stepped on one of many decapitated body parts and blood, drenching his firm leather boots. That however, didn't deter him from reaching his goal; the door at the end of the hallway.

Without much hassle, he soon reached the door, feeling slightly guilty for stepping on some unknown person's remains, but he quickly detached himself from that feeling by pulling on the handle. It didn't open, "GOTT!" He screamed, frustrated with the whole situation at hand- he could almost feel his blood pressure rising, "Why does this happen to me? I knew I shouldn't have listened to the voice that tried to kill me- I'm such an idiot!" He hissed, slamming against the door, which let out a shuddering screech and slowly, very uneasily; opened loudly. Sounding like ship set sail honking it's horn to alert the world of its presence, "..." Germany could only stayed silenced as the door opened to a dully lit room, only giving him a glance of what was in the beyond.

Sneaking through the cracked door, he looked each way first, trying to see if there was anything that could be potentially threatening, before stepping through and closing it behind him for safety purposes. The silence in the long, endless hallway was nearly deafening, not a single sound was heard throughout the claustrophobic walkway. Taking his chances, he walked to the left, "...Hello...?" He asked cautiously, stepping along the dimly lit, pavement floor, not even noticing he was leaving behind a trail of bloodied footprints leading straight towards him.

Deciding it would be smarter not to talk and see if there's an actual human being running through here- specifically Italy, he shut his mouth, walking through the hellish corridor. A few minutes into the walking, something that sounded strangely like a blender and a knife resounded through the hall, making him more alert of his surroundings and carry his gun closely just in case. The further he walked down, the louder the noise became, and he started to become apprehensive about the situation at hand, clenching the gun tightly and continuously checking it for bullets.

Then there was a corner, where the noise originated from- sure he could go straight down through the hallway, but further down; it was quite obvious there were no lights. With a gulp and tensing of the muscles, he went in for the kill, turning the corner and aiming his handgun at whatever was beyond the darkness. Needless to say he nearly screamed in terror once he saw exactly what the thing was, the horridly deformed monster seemed to have no lower torso, only a grotesque lump of mangled flesh. The head was completely encased in rotting skin and a knife protruded from its forehead, while its arms were completely made of metallic, steel knifes, rusted over with grime and guts, "...What in hell-?" Was all he managed before the thing lurched at him, completely startling him.

Putting his military training to use, he side stepped the being and ran, ran away from whatever the hell that _thing_ was. Luckily, he had spotted a strange, metal door once again and without hesitance, crossed through the steel barrier that would very likely protect him from the monster, and slammed it shut behind him as he ran from the door, not knowing if whatever those knives were made of could penetrate through the door. Once he made sure nothing was happening to the door, he turned and yelped, "Ah!" He stepped back, "Why...a stair case?" He shouted, looking down at the thing that was just about the kill him- it wasn't even an animate object, "...Why are these stairs going down-? I've already gone down!" He insisted, pondering exactly how deep the stairs went into the earth.

Shrugging the thought away, he skillfully ran down them at full force, only to come to another door, "...This thing is just mocking me, huh?" He muttered, feeling a small sense of calm while here; knowing he was safe from anything that could come his way. Taking a hesitant step towards the door, he yanked it open, coming face to face with a darkened subway station, filled with nothing but destitute.

_'I see you made it past without becoming horribly mutilated.' Chuckled a voice, angering the German further._

"Shut up you damn-! You're the one who got me in this fucking mess you little bastard!" He screamed at nothing, before a bright object in the station caught his eye. There was someone in the station with him...there was actually a _human_ here in the station with him, "...Hello?" He asked, shaking away the feeling of familiarity, "...Excuse me, can you help me?" He asked, stepping closer to the person.

The brilliant, luminescent person only gave him a glance and ran away, the sterling coat gleaming beautifully behind him as if from heaven.

"...Wait- Italy is that you?" He screamed, seeing the familiar curl bouncing atop his head as he ran away, heading up the stairs, "Italy wait- please wait, you might get hurt!" He screamed, also fearing for himself, it was a strange feeling fearing for both yourself and another at the same intensity. Germany ran towards the person, quickly catching up to the stairs that finally headed upwards, "Italy wait, where are you going?"

Finally catching up to the man, he reached to grab him, only to be stopped by another protruding from the hidden door, "Was zur hölle?" He screeched, stepping back and losing the Italian nation he was after, "Move!...Japan...?" He asked again, finally noticing who exactly was in front of him.

The man smiled kindly, grabbing hold of his hand, "...Germany, I have been looking for you." He spoke softly, "...Are you alright- this place...have you noticed?" He asked quietly, completely restricting the German from reaching the Italian who stood behind Japan, unable to go up any further from the blockage at the door. Which seemed to be some strange creature trying to claw at him from the wall, "It's so strange, there's these creatures and...when we found each other we were afraid something happened to you..."

Seeing as the other small nations weren't heading anywhere and carried no evil intent, he decided it was safe, "...Japan, how are you alive?" He asked, "We all saw you dead on the floor and...then there was another you and...I don't understand..." He whispered.

"...Germany...we don't have copies- have you hit your head?" He asked, slightly concerned, "...And what do you mean alive? I've been alive this whole time...with Italy and a few others." He murmured, fidgeting with the necklace, decorated by a fancily carved cross.

"What others? I haven't seen anyone in this town, what's wrong with you? It's like you're not even fazed by the fact there's something strange going on!" He hissed, "You're supposed to be dead!"

Kiku flinched and backed away from the man, looking obviously hurt, that exact same hurt showing through the Italians features, "...Do you want me dead?...I've been...I have been looking so hard to find you and-"

Ludwig immediately saw something strange that should not be happening, why would Japan ever show this much emotion? He was acting more like Italy than himself..."Japan, are you feeling alright?" He asked from the blue, catching the other by surprise.

"...I'm fine, Germany." Was all he stated.

Again, trying to prove something, Ludwig reached out and yanked the cross off the others neck, before pointing a gun at his head; which made Kiku look at him in shock, "...So who are you really?" He mumbled, completely unconvinced- there were way too many copies and the second one he saw just called him some nonsense, "I know you're not Japan, especially with the way you acted just now, he would not display so much emotion."

By this point, the Italian had already disappeared without the German's knowledge, leaving him alone with the Japanese nation, "...I...I am Japan." He spoke with a trembling voice, staring harshly at the gun, "...What are you...doing?" He whispered out, not liking the other pointing a gun to his head, "I haven't done anything- you have no reason to point a gun to my head." He hissed out.

Ludwig smirked and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, before turning him around so he would not look at him, and then cocking the gun up to the others head closely; the safety obviously off. With a small scoff of amusement he stated quite harshly, "Drop the act, who are you?"

"...I'm telling you, I am Japan." He insisted, standing still against the others hold.

The German's about to be sentence was sharply cut off by what seemed to be a loud, thundering noise of metallic hell, with some harsh screeching of the concrete floor, followed by thunderous steps that sounded like the lullaby of damnation, "...We better go somewhere else." He stated, grabbing the impostor by the neck and walking backwards, up to the door, which was gladly open for Ludwig to walk to- up into the free world. Dragging the impostor out, he closed the door and held him against the wall through the fog, "...Tell me who you are or I will shoot."

Kiku, confused beyond belief trembled out through zipped teeth, "I...Germany, I'm telling you, I really am Japan!" He cried, begging the other to believe him, "I am, what can it take to convince you? I really am-!"

"That's it." He hissed, "If you won't tell me, then I will throw you back in there with whatever it was." He barked, "I know you aren't Japan." Opening the door, he threw the other in there, who completely fell down the stairs in shock with a loud yelp, following harsh sounds of bones breaking and a loud scream.

"I am Japan!" Echoed through the abandoned subway, "I am Japan- please get me out of here, Ludwig! Get me out!" He cried, hearing whatever dangerous monster crawl closer than before.

"I don't believe you." He stated scornfully, hating how this person was so stubborn, even at the face of death, "Tell me and I might go and get you."

The small nation forced his broken arms to work, bones painfully grinding against each other in an attempt to crawl up the stairs, "Oh God, please help me!" He cried, almost immediately feeling something grab hold of his legs. Looking back, he was staring directly into the said person's face, "..." He stayed silenced, looking at the other fearfully. The other only smiled through the darkness, silence falling over as Kiku slowly looked up at the stairs, hoping the other would listen. Obviously, Germany did not, and allowed the man who was now crying to look at the floor in defeat, tears slowly dripping down his pale face like a sorrowful waterfall, "...Oh God...please don't..." He sobbed quietly.

Said person only smirked and leaned down, whispering in his ear, "It seems your time is up, Kiku." He chuckled, grabbing the man by the hair to look back up at the shocked German, "Tell him who you are again."

"...God, please..." He begged.

The other snarled and barked out, "_Tell him!_"

"...Ludwig..." He called lightly, "...I really am Kiku." Was all his tear stained lips managed before, in a swift descend of darkness, he was dragged away screaming by the other into an eternal abyss of whatever hell awaited him down in the underground.

The German nation looked down into the subway shocked, what just happened? Did he honestly just allow someone to be killed?- and why would he keep saying he was Kiku? That was not Kiku, he's been dead for who knows how long now.

_'Think twice...before you act.' He chuckled evilly, 'Think twice, before judging the innocent.' He hissed, 'Think twice before committing murder against your friend.' He smiled, chuckling innocently, completely different from the tone of voice from before, 'You just killed Kiku, Germany.'_

"That's a lie...Kiku's not alive- he's been dead."

_'Ah, ah, ah...' He shook his head, 'This was Kiku, from another past. That was also, Feli. From a different past; you just saw how you killed your friend, Ludwig, guess who's next?' He cackled wildly, the voice gently flowing away with the wind in a psychotic frenzy._

"...That...that's not true!" He yelled looking back down into the subway fearfully, "That- no I couldn't have- I just- no!" He denied, furiously breathing out harsh pants in his panic attack, "I didn't-! I didn't-!" He yelled, refusing to believe it. _Oh, but you did_. "No I didn't!" He screamed at nothing, holding his hair tightly clutched between shaking fingers, "I didn't do that!" _Oh...but you __**did**_. Ludwig shook his head, denying the very accusation, "No...no, that wasn't Japan...that wasn't Italy. They weren't real..." He mumbled desperately, looking down at the subway again; contemplating whether he should go or not. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Looking behind him at the fog filled town, he bit his lip and made the harsh decision. He took one step forward, and two steps backwards.

He closed the door and walked away from the subway with a hardened face.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

_Gasp._

He sat up quickly in terror, looking around him frantically, "...W-what just-? Oh my God, oh my God..." He whispered out between harsh breaths, tears trying to force themselves out through his mind numbing, heart racing fear, "...Fucking hell..." He whimpered, lifting a hand to run the fingers through his sullied, dirty blonde hair, "..._Shit_..." He cried, feeling breathless as a few stone cold tears dripped down his face, from both happiness and horror.

With a few more pants and an exasperated sigh full of dread, he looked around the area he was at, eyes confusedly staring at the room. Where was he? This was not the same place he was at before; it most definitely wasn't. Gently lifting himself off the dusty ground, he stared out the window into the ice cold, snowy abyss of white and smog, "...Where...am I?" He wondered, looking around the room, taking in every inch of the place. The walls were peeling and rusting, ceilings were either broken or breaking, it seemed like everyone just up and left, completely abandoning this place. There were strewn about chairs and misplaced pieces of stray wood breaking through the windows.

Taking a few steady steps towards the window, he peered out to take a closer look at the outside world behold, "...There's so much snow..." He whispered, finally noticing his breath was severely visible, some specks turning into straight out sprinkles of snow, which frightened Alfred considering he couldn't sense the cold around him. It was like he was wearing a safety blanket shielding him from the dangerous glacial air.

Yet he continued to stare out into the world, noticing an abandoned theme park in the distance, the fairly obvious Ferris Wheel standing isolated in an eerie fashion. His icy blue eyes stared down at the world, watching as a figure moved through the park steadily, walking through the snow with what seemed like a longing to ride the Ferris wheel, but who was it? From this distance, he could only see the blackened figure.

Alfred stepped away from the view, intending to find this person and ask what they were even doing in a hell like this. He knew he should be cautious of strange figures calmly roaming the snow, but he was lost and afraid of what might happen shall he be left alone again. Stepping through the door and into the hallway, he noticed how it had drastically darkened, as if the walls had been singed with fire, had this place burned down? "...It doesn't matter right now." He mumbled quietly, jogging lightly through the unstable complex, intending to find suitable, decent stairs to the bottom floor as to run towards the amusement park. He felt slightly draw to the person, and he honestly didn't know why but...he really wanted to see them.


	7. Chapter 7

Sanctuary

Chapter 7

Alfred walked down the snowy hallway; windows broken and crunched beneath his feet. His eyes stared at the outside courtyard, not at all paying attention to the road before him; stepping into another set of stairs. Luckily, on his wild adventure crossing, he eventually managed to actually find a map- though it was only for the surrounding area. Basically, he was just allowing his memory to lead him through the dangerous, unstable building, "...I have to find a map to get to the original town...I know this wasn't here before." He muttered, making it to the bottom in a calm haste, not wanting to disrupt the building's flow.

Opening a door, the American finally ran, stepping through the vast, pure white, snow surrounding his microscopic figure as he paced towards the Ferris wheel he had seen earlier. Surely, that person seemed very human, and the first actual human he met had helped him, right? Why can't he take small chances with this one? Surely, they would not be as bad as the monsters.

It was almost like time passed much too quickly as he arrived at the theme park, surrounded by nothingness and a barren feeling. Passing over the gates of the park, he ran over as close as he could get to the Ferris wheel, trying to see where exactly the person he saw had gone. Of course, after a few seconds of searching, he had seen the man walking away towards an unknown destination; Alfred following quickly behind, but did not shout as he thought it might startle the man and make him run. The aforementioned figure was heading out of the amusement park, and down some randomly chosen road, "Excuse me!" He called out, not loudly or intimidating of course, "Excuse me, sir?" He asked again, trailing after the figure.

The figure stopped and did a 180 degree turn towards the American, before looking at him with a mirrored shocked image, "…Who…who are you?" He managed out, looking at the other with a mild disbelief.

"…I…What do you mean who am _I_? Who are you?" He yelled out, confused by the sudden change in events, turning out to be quite the opposite of what he had expected.

"I'm…Alfred." He continued, "Alfred F. Jones…" He finished, staring at the other expectantly.

"…But…that's me." He whispered out breathlessly, a cold feeling draping over his body, as if the sudden chill had finally caught up with his time.

The other shook his head, blatantly denying the truth before his face, "You must be mistaken." He stated, "Are you sure you aren't confused?"

Alfred seemed mildly offended, giving the other a strange, distrusting look, "Of course I'm not confused!" He barked out, "I know who I am- stop trying to confuse me!"

"…Are you sure?" Asked the copy again, a strange tone of voice taking over, "How can you ever be too certain?"

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The Italian priest walked out of the enchanting room, stepping into the crystalline, diamond encrusted version of his dorm turned fancily wealthy beyond belief. Looking back at the other he spoke out softly with a smile, "...Yao..." He started, "...Do you know what God has spoken to me?" The other shook his head slightly, "He has given me special orders for you..." He smiled tenderly, "...God has requested I kill liars like you."

China looked at the other in disbelief, lips trembling in unimaginable fear and pain, "...I-Italy, please don't! I- I swear I'm telling the truth!" He cried out, tears spilling form his eyes in a rushed manner, "**I swear I'm not lying!**" He insisted, refusing to die by the others mindless hands, "Please..._please believe me, Italy_!" He sobbed, begging the other on his unwilling knees, "I'll truly turn to the light of God and preach with you about God's Sanctuary, I want to go to heaven, Feliciano!" He yelled out breathlessly, breath restricting from the harsh amount of crying he had done over the past three days, it was torture. But, he really had started to see God's hands...he honestly didn't want to die.

"Oh God, please..." He whimpered quietly, tears continuing to rapidly roll down his bruised and marred skin, "..._please..._" He begged quietly.

Italy chuckled lightly and continued, "You're going to be the first." He stated without remorse, "You will be my _Betrayal_. It sounds fitting for this situation, no?" Continuing he spoke, "I know you honestly mean what you say and do not wish to die, but while I have promised to keep you safe and send you to heaven, I'm afraid what God says goes, and I must betray you under the will of God." He smiled, raising the diamond knife he had accidentally turned into the expensive crystals.

He bit his lip and shouted out his intentions, "Italy- please, please don't kill me, Italy!" He cried, "I have to find my brother- I have to find Japan!" He screamed, "I WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN!" He shouted, "He can't be dead- he can't be dead...!" He sobbed, loudly sniffling and whimpering, wanting so desperately to see him again, "Don't kill me...I'm begging you, Italy!" Yao screeched out, lips trembling and his face tinged a slight shade of red from crying.

"...I'm sorry, Yao." He muttered, "...But it's God's orders...and whatever God requests shall be granted; because, you see, Yao...he's so very important...he just wants what's best for us." Italy consoled, "...I'm sure he's only trying to get you to meet your dear brother in heaven, right? Yes, of course he is." He continued, not even waiting for the others answers, "If you don't do this, I'm afraid I'll have to go with this in a very devilish way...I do not wish to commit anything so satanic, but I must...if you make me do so." He whispered, taunting the other.

Closing his eyes, Yao shakily opened his dry mouth, trying to speak properly, "...I..." He paused for a second, gulping lightly, "...I think your God is bullshit." He hissed out between gritted teeth and tightly closed, weeping eyes.

The Italian nation looked stunned for a moment, before glaring with the heat of a thousand suns, "How dare you disrespect God...you sinner!" He hissed, "After all the glorious things he's done for you-!" Stopping himself through mid-sentence, he took a breath and calmed himself, "...I should have listened when he told me sinners never change." He whispered, looking down at the knife in his hands. Delicately, he brought it up to his face, tracing over it with his finger; a single drop of blood spilling out from his wound, before it healed right up and the blood turned to liquid gold in a matter of seconds, dripping off his fingers, "...You...shouldn't have insulted God." He spoke so quietly, Yao almost didn't hear him.

In the blink of an eye, Feliciano roughly stepped down on the other man, effectively breaking the fragile bones on the others leg; proceeding to make him scream loudly, the scream bouncing off the diamond walls of this demented heaven. Italy only giggled maniacally, drawing out the sword and leaning to the others height, "You really, shouldn't have insulted God!" He hissed, grin so broad and candy sweet, it was nearly terrifying to look at.

"You told me God doesn't judge! You told me God would never demand death of anyone-!" He yelped, feeling the crazed man step down harder on his already broken bones, crunching them in a sadistic way, thoroughly enjoying it.

Feliciano smiled, eyes turning the deepest shade of red as the glee increased in his heightened soul, "...God..." He spoke, holding a completely different tone of voice than his own, sounding much deeper and fiercer, so much more psychotic, "...Does indeed like to judge...on corrupted souls like yours..." He spoke, happily raising the knife to the others face, dragging it down along the temple to the chin, "I really do like to torture people like you..." He chuckled, "Because I am God...and what I say, goes." He mumbled, his grip tightening on the handle of the knife and stabbing it right into the Chinese man, ripping right though the thin flesh and directly into the others jaw, blood spewing from the fresh wound as Yao screamed bloody murder, trying to get away while crying and shrieking at him to stop his enmities.

"Stop!" He screeched, the pain intensifying with the words, blood pouring out quickly as his bone was horridly fractured, the knife having penetrated right through his teeth and into the top of his mouth, "Stop!" He cried, sounding muffled from how monstrously painful it was to move his mouth to speak. This pain was too horrific, it was like a fire spreading through your face and rapidly burning, electric jolts clawing and dragging along your face from the source.

"...Yao...I know what you want..." He whispered, "...You wanted to see Kiku, right?" He whispered into the others ear, hoping to catch his complete attention, which it did. The other stopped wailing loudly and only sniffled through the massed pain, "I have him...I have Kiku..." He chuckled, "...Right now, as I'm controlling Feliciano's body...Kiku is sitting right next to me..."

The Chinese cried slightly, so exceedingly happy Kiku was alive somewhere, even if it was just in heaven, at least he was there, _'Don't hurt him...'_ He thought quietly,_ '...Please don't hurt my little brother...don't hurt my Kiku...' _He whimpered,_ '...Please...'_ Yao begged, wanting to know his brother was safe somewhere...and he still...desperately wanted to see him.

Feliciano placed his knees on the ground and gently hugged the sobbing Chinese man, "...I know...you're hurting...you're in a stress of emotional pain that's affecting your judgment." He spoke softly now, slightly kinder, "...But I'll tell you right now...Kiku...he's perfectly fine. He's healthy and good as new, he's of course, sitting right next to me." He smirked behind the others back, "...Feliciano was not lying...I only wanted to bring you into Sanctuary...so you could see your dearly beloved Kiku. He misses you a lot, you know. He's wondering why you haven't come seen him." He spoke gently, trying to convince the other to come along peacefully. "Do you want to follow me to Sanctuary?"

Yao trembled slightly, wanting to see Kiku, wanting to know he was still somewhere out there. Yet, against his judgment, he shook his head with a cry, it felt as if something had controlled him, forcing him to deny his wishes, looking down in disbelief. _He didn't do that...__**he didn't do that!**_

"I understand." He muttered, "...I'm sorry a sinner never changes." He whispered, "Forgive me for allowing Feliciano to do what I have asked of him." Were the true God's last words as his eyes came back to a cold, caramel shade of sweetly colored amber.

Yao looked back up and shook his head, _'I didn't do that!'_ It was like something had forced him to do that, like his body moved on its own, "...No, no!" He shrieked.

Feliciano only shook his head in disappointment, "I understand." He repeated, holding another knife in his left hand, made of pure silver and sparkling jewels embedded along the fine edges and encrusted into the innocent metal. In one swift motion of his hand, he had stabbed the blade right through the others left eye, blood smearing all over the Italians hands and clothes as it spurted out from the wound, red staining the perfect satin white clothes. The Chinese male cried loudly, shaking his head and writhing around, trying to get away from the other and the blade out of his eye, the pain blinding his movements, quite literally. Yao cried even louder, feeling the blade be raked out by the others emphatic hands.

"Stop resisting your imminent sacrifice!" He yelled loudly, clutching the man's face to look at him with his only remaining eye, "...I'm saddened you will never be able to see your dear brother again, Yao." He chuckled, raising the blade cockily.

"NO! FELICIANO, PLEASE!" He screamed, mouth agape in fear and shock, eyes holding the terror from the very depths of his soul. He didn't want it to end like this...Kiku...

The Italian only smiled, before the world around the Chinese man went into a purely black abyss, and a constant screeching of anguish and mind numbing shock. Twisting the blade through the bloodied meat and skull, he decided to penetrate deeper, effectively piercing through the brain, a strange squelch signaling its demise, making the other go into overdrive as the pain fired up inside him, making him twist in unimaginable ways as his brain could no longer control certain aspects of his body, "This is fun, Yao." Chuckled the insane Italian, pulling the knife out with small chunks of tissue, brain and gore splattering along the crystalline floor beneath them, making Feliciano sneer in disgust.

Yet he smiled and stabbed the same weapon right through the Chinese nation's chest, watching as his hands began to permanently tremor with whatever pain he was feeling, it must have been a symphony of death for him, since nations could not die as easily as a human could. Releasing the silver weapon, he pulled out a golden one from his right pocket, decorated with many valuable gems and jewels, forcing the other to cease any unnecessary action as Feliciano ripped apart the man's shirt, exposing his blue flesh scarred with fresh blood. Carefully, Italy pierced into the skin slightly, carving out the numbers he was ordered to on the others weeping skin, the blood turning into a deep, dark shade of black as the numbers finished to write: 116.

"...It is time to take you to God, my Betrayal."

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

England turned, coming face to face with a blood soaked American, holding a lifeless body of Kiku in his arms, "...I killed the monster, Arthur." He whimpered, "...I killed the monster and...and God told me...this was not a monster." He whispered quietly, leaning closer to the frightened man, "...God told me this was...my lover. God told me, I had committed a grave sin and...that I would be forced to endure hell in the most demented way I could possibly think of..."

Arthur leaned back in his chair, away from the bloodied man, carrying an already rotting body, maggots squirming through the churned remains of the others limp, lifeless body. He looked away appalled, holding his mouth as to keep the vomit from rising passed his throat and keep himself from noticing the horrific stench coming from the two.

Alfred looked at the dead body of Kiku, resting lifeless in his arms, "...Isn't he beautiful?" He muttered, hugging the body closely, keeping it to himself, "...He's so beautiful..." He whispered, before looking over at Arthur, "...God thought I was sick...he told me I was sick for loving a dead body...but I can't help loving my Kiku." He whimpered, "...My precious Kiku...he's such an angel..." He whispered, staring at the body longingly, "...Artie...bring him back for me...I'm begging you..." He whispered, extending the rotting body to the revolted Brit.

"G-Get that thing away from me!" He hissed, leaning further back in his chair, which seemed to deeply offend the nation.

Alfred opened his mouth to speak, before abruptly closing it again, "…He's not a thing…he's my angel…" He whispered, the Asian nation's remains turning into an acidic ash, gently swooping to the floor like fine sand in an hour glass, "…Don't ever call him that again…he's…not what you think…"' He whispered, the body gone, turned into ashes.

"It's a bloody corpse!" He replied harshly, "He's not coming back- he's been dead for who knows how long now!"

The American nation glared and reached out to touch the other, avoiding the others resisting hands and gently touching the others head, making the world go into a downward spiral of darkness.

"_You will see truth_."

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The pitch of sound came rushing towards him, slamming against him at full force, a high shriek echoing in his ears loudly, forcing him to open his eyes and look at the world with a scream of his own, "Ahh!" He hissed, covering his ears from the devils tune, alerting him widely and brightening him awake with the force of a screeching damnation, "Stop!" He shouted, eyes tightly shut from the pain the accursed melody caused.

_Silence._

It was all silenced when he shouted the word. Arthur slowly, warily removed his hands from his ears, looking up and around the area, "…Where am I…?" He whispered, emerald colored eyes gleaming dully through the fog, searching for the answer of his destination. Everything was dry, yet damp, the colors were dulled and everything seemed to rest in an eternal slumber of deprivation.

Really, everything looked eerily asleep; he would say dead but…it felt more like they would wake up any moment now and completely surprise you. Giving out a small sigh, England ran his fingers through his hair and stood up, slowly looking around his surroundings, seeing a prickly forest and a small stop for the laboratory, he knew he had to choose, and went with the forest, why? Because there was a map nailed to the side of a rock wall that made sure nobody fell to their deaths. Of course, he began walking, slowly stepping over to the map, becoming clearer and clearer as he got closer, which led him to run over and grip the paper between his clammy hands.

"...This is...this is the town the meeting was held in..." He whispered, eyes wide in shock, absorbing the new found information, "...The forest..." He mumbled, staring at the map intently, searching for directions, "...Straight, turn to my right, left...straight...through a fence...right...left...I'll be in the town...hopefully they have another map..." He mumbled, standing up from his knees and looking off into the distance, behind the forest, there seemed to hide a large, murky lake.

Glancing down at the steps, he hurriedly rushed over, stepping down the stairs in small clicks and clacks, nearly echoing through the empty streets, "...Don't worry, I'm coming, Alfred." He whispered, continuing down the seemingly endless stairs, before arriving upon a barren, swindling dirt road, stretching out over the expanse of land, leading him through the forest, towards his awaiting destination, "...I'm coming, Alfred..." He whispered solemnly again, taking a step, into the murderous abyss.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Ludwig looked around the town, completely lost and seemingly nonchalant about it, "…That can't be true…I would never…he's already dead…" He muttered, trying to deny what the other had said. He motioned himself to the left, walking into another small store he had finally found, "…Gott, don't let this drive me insane." He whispered, pushing open the door covered in dust and ashes. The dull bell clunked, signaling the arrival of the Germanic nation who stood at the door.

His heavy leather boots stomped at the floor with heavy, reverberating steps, dusting through the hollow store, left with few remaining items of food to be eaten. Then again, who knows how long they have been there? "…I should at least look at the expiration date." With that he walked over to a small café in the store, walking through it, trying to see if there was anything he could cook up freshly made and healthier than candies and whatever else was here.

Sadly, there was none, thus he had to settle with grabbing a small bag of chips from the rack, only to see they did not expire until the next year, "…These had to have been freshly stocked or something, there's no way there's something fresh- this town is old and…abandoned." After some deep thought, he shrugged and opened the bag, stumbling back in shock as a long centipede nearly jumped out of the bag, startling the stoic man.

The bug dropped to the floor with the bag, before crawling out and skittering away quickly, disappearing into the darkened corners of the store. Ludwig sighed and looked around the store, not even trusting perfectly closed items; especially not after that, "I don't know what to do here…I…is that another note…?" He asked himself, slowly walking over to the gleaming red card, blaring brightly at him from across the room, "But…last time…" He muttered, remembering what the voice had told him about red envelopes.

Germany glared harshly at the item and decided against grabbing it. Not only did he not trust it, but the voice didn't seem to give it a hint of trust either- and that voice wanted him dead. Clearing his throat for a moment from whatever fumes were entrapped within him, he walked towards the car, staring it down for a few tense minutes.

'…_You should probably grab that…' He whispered again, 'Maybe then you can come to the church.' He ended quietly._

Of course, the church seemed like a much better place to be in rather than in the middle of this damn forsaken town, "…You told me it was a red card…you said they weren't good." He stated.

_He chuckled for a moment, '…Exactly, if you die after this, I'll prepare your funeral.' He cackled darkly._

He frowned at the note, before lifting it up gently and peeling it open, hoping nothing would pop out like last time. Nothing did and he let out a thankful breath, before pulling out the contents inside, which consisted of a strange necklace and a small parchment of old paper, with fancily written font across it, "…Hopefully it will not be bad, ja?" He spoke, reading its contents.

…_Past, Present, Future…_

_One dead, only to two go._

_The past was separated by the present, and the future is lost without the past._

_Time has stopped, trapped in an endless loop, forever recycling._

_A world without end, a sanctuary without solace._

Germany read through the paper with an odd look, "…What does this mean? I…I don't understand it at all…" He mumbled, before looking at the silver necklace, seeing as it was made of three conjoined circles, while being held together with a swerving ribbon, connecting them all together. Upon closer inspection, one could see the ribbon was cracked between the median and left circle. He gave it a curious look, before placing it around his neck, wondering if it did anything, which it did not.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Alfred looked up before him at an invisible entity, eyes filled with sorrow and regret as the words spoken to him deeply penetrated his heart. Fog and ashes surrounded the tiny abandoned island at the center of the lake, covered in eerie trees, completely blanketing the dirt island. The large building before him was almost teasing him; it was a church, dimly lit and decorated with cobble stone and colored glass windows, shaped like the sun. The doors creaked open slowly, booming loudly from years of mistreatment, allowing the other an unwilling entry; Alfred gulped and continued, tightly gripping the dead body in his hands, pale but beautiful, though the stench was awful, nearly unbearable. His worn out boots stepped onto the stair case, one, two, three...four, five, six.

Soon enough, he was at the altar, dropping to his knees and crying out loudly, "...God!...Oh God, PLEASE!" He screamed, holding the body with trembling hands, soaked in blood, "...Please help me..." He whispered, his sobs echoing through the empty, silent island. Not a single noise went around as he held onto the body, his tainted tears slowly dripping onto the Asian man's face, which he was holding dearly close to his, "...My Kiku..." He whispered lamentably.

_'...You have committed a grave sin, Alfred...' Whispered a voice, sounding familiar and yet unfamiliar, '...What has brought you to me...to the God of Sanctuary?' He whispered at the other without a hint of remorse._

Alfred's teeth clattered together as his lips trembled, still sobbing about his loss, "...Bring him back to me..." He whispered, "Bring him back to me!" He begged, gently and quickly setting the body down on the table at the altar, "...My Kiku..." He whimpered, "...Bring him back..."

_'...What do you have to offer me...for your sick love of a corpse? I want nothing to do with your...blasphemy.' He muttered, '...This is your own wrongdoing.' God hissed._

Looking at the other with a slight shake of his head, "I'll do anything...please, I'm begging you..." He cried, looking back at the body, then at the God once more, "...I'll do anything to have him with me again..." He hiccupped, trying to stop the overflow of tears.

_A moment of silence passed, '…...I shall grant you that wish, only if you grant my request.' He spoke deceivingly, '...Do you accept?'_

He looked at him angrily and shouted, "You haven't told me what-!"

_'Do you accept?' He screeched out, making the younger man nod fearfully. He smirked and raised a hand over the corpse's body, consuming it in a bright, nearly blindingly white incandescent light engulfing the room, the world suddenly turning darker outside of the church, scaring Alfred about his decision, '...God has given you back your lover's life. Now...you must repay the debt.' He spoke, looking at Alfred, who smiled insanely at the body, whose eyes were open, looking straight up, '...You...are damned to an eternal hell.' He whispered, touching Kiku's still body, which was not at all reacting._

Beginning to get scared, Alfred reached for Kiku, "Give him to me! Give him to me- we had a deal! KIKU!" He screamed, watching the God place a hand over the small nation's mouth, before widening the orifice and forcing the hand in, leaving Alfred gaping in disgust and horror at what he was doing to him. Soon, the God began to dissipate, his essence turning into a wisp of a spirit, entering the Japanese man's body, making Alfred look at the whole scene in confusion.

_'...The broken clock ticks, moving through time at an unknown pace, forever encircling, lost through the same unknown space.' Spoke God, leaving the oriental nation to drop to the ground._

The American quickly ran over to the body, catching it just before it hit the ground, "...Kiku...? Kiku, Kiku answer me!" He cried, shaking the body slightly, before realizing how cold to the touch it was, "...Kiku..." He sobbed, "...Kiku, please talk to me!" He cried, kissing the small man, who continued to be unresponsive, just like a corpse, "..." Alfred stayed silenced, looking at the scene with a slightly agape mouth.

He shook the body softly, leaving it limp and still lifeless, "...I think I understand." He muttered, lips beginning to tremble, "...I think I understand." He sobbed, hugging the body tightly, crying into its dead shoulder, wailing hysterically for the world to hear, "KIKU!" He screamed, clutching the body tightly, "Kiku!" He wheezed, overcome with sobs. As his punishment, suffering through an eternal hell, he was going to be left with the empty shell of Kiku's body, "...Why!" He screeched, holding the nation tightly and crying.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

England stood at the doorway in shock at the whole scenario. One second he had been about to enter the forest, before he felt himself be whisked away by some random force and suddenly appear behind Alfred; who entered the church. He realized he could not be seen or heard...he was but a mere illusion in Alfred's memories of the past, "...Alfred..." He whispered, gazing sadly at the scene. It also made him wonder about this situation, Kiku's body looked completely fine here, so it must be in the past; long before Kiku's body began to rot away.

Arthur stared at the two, watching as Alfred raised the body, placing it back on the altar's table carefully, brushing the hair away from his face, staring at the body dismally. He had stopped crying, instead opting to look at the door, directly where Arthur was standing, shocking the other still with hellish red eyes. The British nation took a wary step back from the door, not at all trusting memories in the least either.

The America stared at him, glaring harshly, "_..._" Silence loomed through the room, before suddenly, a strong push had sent England flying out of the door, slamming him harshly against a nearby tree, before the doors themselves shut closed, denying entry to the Brit. "Bloody hell!" He hissed, making sure he had not broken anything, and standing quickly, running to the door, coming an inch to touching it-

Before the tips of his fingers could even touch it, he felt a tight pull at his throat that reeled him away, sending him forward through time, towards where he already was, "Alfred!" He wailed, wanting the other nation back, still not fully understanding what just happened.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The force pulled him back, squeezing him into his own body once more, appearing in front of Alfred, who was still hugging the small nation, the corpse rotting, it's like he didn't even mind the awful smell. Arthur gulped quickly, looking around the room with a sigh, before looking at Alfred again, "...What was that?" He asked, wanting to know more, "...I want to know what everything was- it looked like this exact place but...there was a small island in the middle of the lake, was there not?" He stated.

Alfred nodded, "...That was Sanctuary, please England, I have shown you what I know...please, bring back my Kiku..." He begged, pushing the body again towards the other, who stared at it disgustedly, before extending his arms, reaching for the carcass. Though, as he reached for it, the second it made contact with his hands, the smell was completely gone, and in a burst of light, the body was normal again, looking just as rejuvenated as when he was alive. Arthur stared in shock at the scene before him, now holding the man in his own arms, who had begun to glow lightly, "...What is this?" He questioned, "I demand to know what's happening." He insisted.

Kiku's body quickly rejuvenated, glowing brightly, making Alfred smile widely, "…It's working…it's working!" He squealed, looking at the body hopefully; before all his dreams were crushed, as the other's body had begun to fade, turning into ashes and falling to the cold ground beneath, "…No…No!" He screamed, reaching for the others ashes, which lay sprawled across the shocked Englishman's lap and onto the dirty floor below, "Kiku- no!" He screamed again, "Why? Why me?" He cried loudly, hating his misfortune.

Arthur only stared as the man began to pick up the sprawled ashes, "Alfred…Alfred- calm down!" He spoke quietly, not even daring to wipe away the ashes on his lap, which he was sure the other would collect, "Why do you want him back so badly, Alfred? He's not going to come back to you…"

"He has to!" He cried, "I- I loved him and…I…I want him to come back to me!...I'm…I'm so sorry… "He cried, his tears spilling onto the floor, the ashes now dusted into a pile of remains in Alfred's hands, "…Kiku…" He whimpered, looking at the dirt sorrowfully, "Why won't you come back to me…?" He questioned, before looking up at England, "…Arthur, you have to help me get him back…"

"I'm not helping until you tell me everything." He hissed, "I want to know what's going on. Why did you just appear out of a video?"

Alfred bit his lip, looking away, "…Those videos…I…I'm unsure if I should tell you…" He whispered, "I don't want to relive what has happened…" He cried, pulling out a white letter from his pocket, handing it over to the Englishman, "…You can take this. It tells you everything…but I doubt it will be of any help." He whispered, staring at the remains, before going as if into some deep trance.

"…Alfred…Alfred, are you alright?" Asked England, who was holding the letter; concerned for the man, who seemed to be spellbound.

Though, the nation did not pay him any attention, instead opting to look at the ashes oddly. He slowly raised it higher towards him, until it was almost at least an inch from his face, before he opened his mouth to England's horror, "You bloody git- don't you dare!" He cried, reaching for the other to try and stop the repulsive acts; but as soon as he touched the nation, he nearly fell right through him. The taller blonde had turned into only a ghost now, making Arthur look away as Alfred shoved the only remains of his lover into his mouth, harshly swallowing it.

England nearly threw up as he turned away from the other; who was nearly choking on trying to swallow the ashes. All one could hear was the loud, disturbing hacking Alfred was making, sounding as if he were about to puke up the filth he just ate, "Bloody disgusting you are, Alfred." He whimpered, feeling his last meal knocking on his throat, "God dammit, why did you eat it in the first place?" He screeched out, looking at the other, who hovered on his knees, panting harshly.

The American gagged again, sounding out several revolting guttural sounds, before he held his neck tightly, as if he was indeed going to puke, "Don't you dare puke in here you git-!" Alfred coughed, effectively spilling out some strange strings drenched in blood from his mouth, with a sickening lurch of noise, he gripped the trembling streams of what looked like entrails as Arthur gasped; horrified. The nation pulled on it, blots of blood falling to the floor as he pulled on the intestines, "Alfred what the hell are you doing?" Screeched Arthur.

Alfred coughed, pulling harshly on the entrails, ripping them out ruthlessly; his stomach caving in slightly as he retched out his innards, blood pooling around the floor, as he strained to maintain breath, he continued to cough out the unknown organs, everything that had literally been in his system came out with every lurch. The American began to cry from lack of breath and pain as he spit out the last of his insides, "…England…" He hissed out breathlessly, "…D-don't watch the third video…" He whispered, "…_T_…_truth_…_lies like_…_death_." He ended, his body disappearing from view, along with everything else; every instance he had been there had been completely erased.

"…The third video…?" He asked, confused, trying to hold the contents in his stomach, feeling slightly paranoid now.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

"Hahah…" Chuckled the Italian quietly, holding a golden cup of wine; the sacrifice's blood. He stood before the mirror, placing the cup at the center before looking behind him at the Chinese man, "…Yao, do you want me to remind you how God was made?" He asked pleasurably, not caring that the other was nearly dead. Though he nodded, "…Yes…In the beginning…before out God was even born, in the beginning…before our glorious God even existed…was us." He sighed.

"We were nothing but lifeless shells of some poor, lowly creature, so full of sin and hatred. We were granted with life so eternal, we could not die, and no matter how hard we tried…we just…could not die." He sighed, "We suffered, trapped in the clutches of the devil's witchery." He hissed, glaring at nothing, before continuing with the story, "…One of us despaired, and offered our heart to the sun, pleading for salvation." He smiled, "Another one of us, offered our mind to the moon, and asked for joy. Feeling pity for the darkness that had overrun the earth, God was born…from those two people. God made time and separated day and night; God gave us the path to salvation and gave us joy, and God placed a stop on immortality, giving us death." He smiled.

"…God…sought out to create paradise- where people would be happy by just _being_ there." He murmured sadly, "But there…God's strength collapsed…and God was no more. The entire world's people grieved this unfortunate event, yet God breathed his last." He spoke softly, sorrow filling his voice to the brim, "He returned to the ashes of Sanctuary…and promised he would arise once more. So God isn't lost…we must offer our prayers and not forget our faith, we wait in hope for the day…when the path to paradise…will be open." He smiled, watching the mirror glow.

The white presence overtook the room, filling it in an array of beautiful wonder, Italy glowing just as brightly with the heavenly being, "…The Betrayal is ready…" He whispered, "I did what you have told of me. Is my God proud?" He asked, grinning crazily, hoping he made his Lord happy.

A soft, ghostly voice whispered again through the fog now invading the room, "…My dear, darling Feliciano…" It whispered, "I'm so proud of you…and so is God, my child. I heard when you spoke of our history…how God arose and vanished only to promise us eternal paradise…I shed a tear." He laughed slightly, "You're perfect, you're definitely ready, my Feliciano." He sighed, more fog entering the room, which began to fade into the white, making it look like heaven in the area, "Now…please, give me the Sacrifice." He asked kindly.

Feliciano nodded, ecstatic he was able to please his God, he was sure there were tears on his cheeks, "Of course, I…I'm so happy I'm crying." He chuckled, walking over to Yao, who didn't even try to resist, already fatigued and half dead from so much blood lost. Somehow, Italy managed to get the man to the mirror, where he stood, unable to see anything, unable to sense the presence before him, "…Yao…he will take you to God. I pray you are happier there." He smiled, offering the man to the presence in the mirror.

As he reached out the body, a set of hands extended at the same pace as himself, looking like exact replicas; soft, delicate, flowery hands. Those glowing apparitions took hold of the body, before asking Feliciano to close his eyes, which he did- and as soon as he did, the hands turned a sickly pale shade of grey; dark veins appearing on the dirtied skin, the light now dulled and gone to show a dingy restroom, looking just as filthy as the hands did.

The clawed hands pierced into the man's skin, forcefully dragging him into the broken mirror, bending the man's back with a sickening crack as he tried to devour the Sacrifice given to him, the body bent in two, easily slipping into the slim mirror, which held the gentle reflection of Feliciano with a face scarred and tortured, looking like a polar opposite, intense, sunken white eyes could be seen through the darkness as Yao was pulled in, completely leaving the unaware Italian standing before his demonic, grey skinned double.

"You may open your eyes now, Feliciano." Spoke the voice, watching as the other opened his eyes and continued to smile- the room back to its normal, crystalline state, "God is proud of you, my child." He smiled, feeling prideful, "Yao will be in a safe place close to God…I promise you- they will be granted peace once the process is finished." He whispered, allowing the mirror to fade from its once brightness once more, taking the body of Yao with him to some unknown destination Italy thought was limbo.

"…I'm happy I could be of some assistance to God…" He cried softly, the tears that had trailed down his face turning into white gold, "…I wonder…I wonder if Romano is doing just as well with God?" He asked no one, glancing at the cup on the sink, seeing it was completely empty…except for a single drop left behind. Looking at it oddly, he grasped the cup, staring at the blood, before tilting the cup and tasting the single drop of iron blood, tasting as pleasant as the sweetest of candies, he smiled lightly and set the cup back down, licking his lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Sanctuary

Chapter 8

Alfred looked at the other oddly, "...I'm certain, what do you-" He was about to ask, before he was cut off by the other.

"_Truth does not lie. Then again, how are you too certain? When the lie is disguised as truth?"_ He asked solemnly, eyes going from an ocean blue, to an icy white.

The American stepped back, "What are you saying? Who are you- I know you're not who you say you are." He hissed, "Tell me the truth!" He barked, "I'm sick of being lied to and left alone!"

"...You must try to remember me, and your true self as well." He whispered, finishing the sentence before turning in a single motion, stepping onto more snow and- vanished. It's like he was already part of the air, or just a figment of his imagination, did he melt into the snow, or did he fall into his subconscious? This whole place was like an isolated dream full of ethereal life, it was just so disgustingly fake.

Alfred stared up at the place the other had vanished to; eyes scanning around the white snow, searching for any presence he head seen.

He could have sworn he was right there, "...God dammit!" He yelled, throwing out his fists as he turned and walked away, hair billowing in the wind slightly. Ocean blue eyes looked around, trying to figure out _what the fuck_ just happened. Someone can't just disappear! Alfred growled, kicking the snow in frustration, "What the fuck?" He yelled, "This shit is too confusing!"

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

After the horrifying even for the Brit, he still stood frozen on the spot- ten minutes turned to thirty, and before he knew it an hour had passed; thoughts racing through his mind. He felt so discouraged now; what could he do? Arthur bit his lip and sighed, thinking a bit further into the subject, then taking one wary glance at the paper given to him, "...I don't even know anymore..." The frustrated nation glared at the note, before practically ripping it open to spill its contents.

Emerald green eyes looked over the paper deeply, scanning through the scrawly letters that most definitely belonged to the American.

_Note 1_

_Arthur...I have obviously given you the notes you will need if you wish to learn how to get Alfred back and everyone else as well. I am guessing I will have to start with the beginning...where I had...murdered Kiku. The angel of my life, who I can never again have._

_A fight is what sparked it...a damn stupid fight...this was only one of many but- for once I had actually gotten violent. All I can tell you about that is that I grabbed a gun, and shot him six times. All the shots I gave him would have resulted in a fast death...for I would never want him to suffer through anything, because I still loved him dearly but...I was new to relationships._

_Yet after killing him, the world spun and I seemed to have arrived in some weird place...it's called: Sanctuary. It's a cute little town...well, not so cute once you actually get to know it but...it's just very small- there's nothing to it. There is also no way to get out; the roads are cut off and whenever you even try to leave it just pulls you back in and the siren begins to ring...so once you have entered the town, you can't leave._

_I came in through this strange...forested area- it overlooks the lake and is located right next to a grave yard, where I stumbled upon Kiku's spirit looking at me with a betrayed look on his face. I felt so guilty when I saw him there, sitting on the ground with a white gown that appeared oddly familiar to a priests robes, it was rather dashing...but it made him seem even paler and dead than usual._

_Once I had finished my conversation with him, he pointed me to the town and told me I had to go in. There I walked to a large building, and stepped inside- greeted with a melancholic feeling and a fence separating me from the rest of the building. Walking to the other side was a chasm, just like an unsolvable puzzle- it took me nearly half an hour just to figure out where the door was!_

_Anyways, once I finished crossing through the place, I arrived upon the town called Sanctuary through some strange, restricted back entrance._

_Note 2_

_After walking on the same road for some time, I found myself entering through a large door in the fence; which was oddly covered in some sort of strange wrapping. I walked down the road and found myself at a fork, where the road split three ways...there I was completely and utterly lost- so I went to the restaurant nearby, since the area looked so oddly familiar, but did not ring a bell. Once entering the McDonald's I sat on a stool, thinking nothing of the fog filled area around me, or whatever crawled through the establishment._

_Soon enough, I had begun to bore myself and decided to look for a map in the area; to which I found two- a close up of the town, and a close up of the streets. But there seemed to be something strange on it; there were several markings that signaled the roads could not be accessed and one- that had a circle around a large building- which I later found out was a meet hall for us. It was the very building you're in, England._

_I'm sure you know what I did next, yes? Well- I couldn't go through with that plan since I found the road to be blocked by a series of strange, fume emitting pipes jutting out from the ground. Therefore, I just ran into a random building like the idiot I am, where I managed to find a camera...so I stashed it in my large pockets and looked around for anything else that could be of use- I found only a red letter from Kiku._

_As soon as I opened the piece of shit; my entrails were scattered along the floor as a monster behind me shoved a sharp hammer hand into me...of course I died and saw Kiku in some strange, circular room. There he told me to know the difference between good decisions and bad ones, and he also told me those three beautiful words that kept me going. I love you, of course! He smiled at me sadly and disappeared in a wisp of smoke. I stood there in surprise that he still loved me...I stood there...in such surprise he...still loved me._

_Looking over the room I was in, I found a door and a weapon to defend myself with- which was given to me by Kiku. First, I carefully listened through the door...and I was about to head inside- but as soon as I was about to turn the door knob, Kiku warned me not to, so I took his word and completely followed what he said until the end._

_Note 3_

_Everything after was a very meaningful goose chase basically, I went hunting down Kiku- wherever he was in the town...and I ran into so many monsters...they all had your faces and...they wouldn't leave me alone. I soon came to realize why they were there- just to help me...and help my darling. There's so much symbolism to the area...so much points right back towards the church...before it turns sinister._

_There was a meeting room, a hospital, an amusement park, an insane asylum, a basement, and a church- what kind of strange mix is that?_

_Whilst I had found the camera- I had begun to record whatever I could, and what I knew, I wrote down in the notes Kiku continued to give me. I later realized that red notes signified something will happen- usually something bad, but it was sometimes good. One white note gave me a necklace...within it held; an eternity symbol. Later, it seemed to signify time in Sanctuary- it began in the end and it ended in the beginning. _

_In the meeting room...I found so many monsters crawling around- and I witnessed Italy...he was there, running around scared and unsure of what was going on. As I went with the flow of things- I discovered you guys...everyone seemed to be there, you also seemed to have hated me. Of course you did, I killed all of you._

_There were only a select few missing...and those who were I found as monsters- trying to hunt me down and brutally slaughter me, but I understand you hated me._

_At the hospital...I witnessed so many gruesome things...like France and Matthew- they were there. Of course, they were by no means alive as they were tied down to a table screaming while their organs were forcefully ripped out and left to deteriorate...just like I killed them._

_There was also an amusement park I traveled to- many strange things happened there...I ended up walking myself into the afterlife as I met Kiku in the large ferris wheel that stood there. We talked and talked...then he smiled...then I kissed him...then we...or well- I tried, but I only got a hand through my chest as he stared at me with an emotionless gaze that harbored a small hate._

_When I awoke, I found myself in some disgusting, dingy place...looking over the area as much as I could for clues and any sort of hint to where Kiku was located. I found many notes and drawings from my darling, and there were many things that led me to him, and some led me closer to my own demise...but at the same time, I began to uncover some strange things._

_A series of tunnels and horror rooms connected to each other by a single basement...littered with monsters and certain others like Ivan and Yao...who were even more terrifying than the other monsters. I found weapons and more hints to either endanger myself, or save myself...along with so many riddles and secrets that were strewn about._

_...Here we are...at the dreaded church...where nothing is as it seems. Masks covered faces and the lie was disguised as the truth...they told me about the town's rich history- and more of the religion. There was one single God that had arisen from the people's fear and hatred...and with that melancholic harmony...he made people die so they could go to heaven...and he required sacrifices to live...but in the end...he died from such overuse of his power, and of course; needs to be brought back._

_I also heard a few other strange things...like...he could bring people back to life. Someone...like my Kiku._

_Note 4_

_I'm sure you know what I did next...I left to go into the church at the center of the lake...where the God was located...where the God was brought back to life by me...where I pleaded to be with my dearest Kiku once more...only to be lied to and shrugged off like a pathetic bug._

_I couldn't help it...I was so enraged by the fact he didn't bring my Kiku back that I...I committed such a crime...that I can barely process._

_But I loved it._

_It made me who I am..._

"...What does he mean? Did all of this...happen in some other dimension? In the past? Where and how could this happen?"

Arthur was starting to put the pieces together. Maybe these were all just...remnants of the past...forever entrapped to history- but it still doesn't click...why would time repeat itself-?

Silence spread through the room, everything was deathly still- you could hear a pin drop from a mile away.

"...I get it..." He whispered to himself, beginning to smile, "I GET IT! I FINALLY GOT THIS BLOODY PIECE OF-!"

"What are you so happy about, comrade?" Asked a random voice from behind the Brit, making Arthur turn as quick as lightning to its source.

"Oh God, Ivan...you scared me witless- what are you doing here?" He asked, holding a hand to his chest where it was furiously clutching at his shirt.

The tall Russian gave him a strange glance, "Well, I haven't seen China around for quite some time- I went to his room and there was nobody there, he's been gone too long for my liking." He muttered, "We were together a week ago and I haven't even gotten a single glance of him this week. Something isn't right here." He hissed.

Arthur raised a brow, "Are you sure he's not in his room? Nobody is allowed out of the building yet. It's under very tight lock down..." He muttered.

Sighing, he nodded, "I'm sure he's not anywhere- I have not seen him, I have not seen anyone. Everyone seems to be locked in their rooms- America is screaming inside his room and began to curse obscenities at me when I knocked- I don't even know how he knew it was me." He shrugged, "And when I visited Italy's room he actually _glared _at me. Quite brave that was."

Wait...that didn't sound right, "...Italy _glared_ at you? Is that right- are you sure he glared at you? He's very kind and I doubt he would even hurt a fly..." Stated England, sounding confused and unbelieving, "Maybe he's upset...he hasn't seen his brother in a while now- or anyone else and Germany along with Francis died...I think he would be greatly depressed right now." He muttered, "Though he was happy those few days ago...he even...did some strange magic and turned the table to gold." He muttered, "We had to get it replaced..."

"...He...turned the table to gold?" Asked Ivan, seeming amused, "That sounds like pretty impressive alchemy."

"It wasn't alchemy...or at least I don't think it was- but he seemed a bit out of it; so I just gave him his space..." He finished, "Do you want to go check on him? I have work to do."

"Da." Was his only approval before he stepped out.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Two bodies sat huddled against a dirtied corner in their room, the taller of the two brunettes held the smaller Italian in his arms, shushing him and rocking him; comforting him with sweet whispers, "Lovino, mi querido..." His voice cracked slightly, "...What's going on- ¿Por qué estás así?" He asked, holding the other tightly to himself, who was crying and sobbing hysterically- all the while screaming like a madman, "Lovino, por favor, talk to me!" Begged Spain.

Nothing changed- but it had been much too frequent now...Antonio almost didn't even want to live in this house anymore- it was torn asunder by the breaking Italian...he could almost see the sanity being drained out of him, "Mi Lovinito, please...stop screaming, please don't cry...please don't cry..." He caressed, his heart breaking as the other wailed loudly.

Their house was nothing anymore- just a barren place with dirtied floors and stained walls, the sheets could no longer be kept clean from how dependent Lovino became- the older Italy had been telling him something was wrong for the past few days and he didn't listen! And now look at what happened! He hadn't seen Lovino this frightened since...

That didn't matter- what mattered is Lovino's mind, he would hardly ever respond to him anymore, and when he did it was always something strange like: Please remember me. Or something like: Antonio you're hurting me! When he wasn't even near the boy. It's like he was in a completely different world from theirs.

"S-Spain...Antonio...why don't you remember me...?" Whispered a shaky voice, tears frantically dripping down his face, "I love you...why don't you love me?"

"I do love you mi querido! I do! What are you saying?" He asked, unsure of what to do anymore- He was so desperate he would do anything now, and he hasn't even heard a word from Italy, nor the G8. He wanted to go over there and ask them what was happening with his precious Lovino, but he was afraid of what would happen.

Lovino had raised a knife against him earlier this week. He was definitely not stable anymore- something was seriously wrong and he couldn't take him anywhere in this condition.

"Lovi...mi amado, por favor- deja de llorar. You're breaking me apart and I don't know how to help you anymore." He cried silently, hugging the other closely to himself; he just noticed how clammy the others skin was, as if the life was being sucked out- Antonio definitely didn't want that.

"A-Antonio...don't leave me..." He whispered out with a heart wrenching tone of voice, "...Please...don't leave me. It's dark...and it's so scary." He sobbed, holding his eyes closed, "There's so many things wrong with this place...everything is foggy and I don't know where I am. There's monsters after me- I don't even fucking know what they are!" Wailed Lovino with trembling lips.

Shaking, the Spaniard dared to ask the question, "...Mi tesoro...¿De qué estás hablando?" He spoke quietly.

"I don't know..." He sighed, "B-but it's telling me to go...to go..." He swallowed, "...See Feliciano...for some sacrifice." He muttered.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The tall Russian found himself wandering through the empty hallways once more, searching for the once cheerful Italian that glared at him for seemingly nothing. Violet eyes stared at the floor hard, thinking about Yao and where he had gone- surely he couldn't have gone out...but right now he couldn't be concerned about that- he was sure everything would turn out fine. He just had to check on Italy.

"Dio Mio...mio signore, per favore; talk to me." Whispered a weary voice from beyond the door Ivan stood before.

"...What is our little Italy talking about?" He wondered, raising his hand to knock on the door- only to be interrupted by another speaking session.

"I gave you a sacrifice...who is next?" Feliciano muttered lowly.

"Russia." Chuckled the still unknown voice, harmonizing like hell.

At hearing his name be spoken in such a horrifying tone by the Italian, the largest country in the world backed away from the door with a confused look on his face, '...A sacrifice? I'm next?' He glared at the door, before looking back down the way he came and making a run for it; his heavily armored boots clanking loudly against the floor.

If there was one before...that...that must have been Yao- he hasn't been seen for a week. He couldn't even believe himself- that was just...to think Italy would do this...

_'Are you going somewhere?'_

Turning around, Russia came face to face with an exact copy of the Italian, floating in mid air and surrounded by what seemed to be the essence of heaven- if you could call it that. Whatever that thing was had the most ferocious red eyes it had ever seen- it looked like it literally wanted to eat him, "...Who are you?" He hissed.

_'You know...Italy wanted to talk to you.' He dodged the question, instead deciding to appear before the Russian in a sudden gust of wind and shove his hand down his throat, '...We really need to talk to you, devil.' He hissed, dragging the other back by extending his claws into the man's already bleeding throat, 'Come with me.' He chided, pulling the man back down the hall._

Russia grabbed the copy's hand, pulling it out of his system and coughing out loudly, "I don't think so- what did you do to Yao?" He screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the entity.

_'...He's with God now.' Chuckled the voice, slowly pulling out a gun from beneath it's large robes, 'If you don't want to die...I suggest you come with me- and you might see Yao.' He whispered deviously, cocking the handgun to the others face quite boldly, '…...Come...I know you want to see him- and if you believe...then maybe God will allow you to see him.' Smiled the voice of perfect lips._

"...How can I trust you?" He muttered quietly, "...I don't even know who or what you are- I was suddenly thrown into all this...nonsense. Everyone is suddenly going insane or dying."

_Smirking, he answered, 'What? Do you think I'M after this whole shenanigan? Ha...I wouldn't even think about it- my sole loyalty is to God...maybe...he...knows the answer?' He hinted, 'Then again...there are some other suspicious people around...and you know how it is. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent.' He joked, before suddenly and harshly smacking the gun upon the others unsuspecting head._

With a groan and imminent thud, the large country fell to the ground unconscious...or possibly just a bit dazed from the blow.

_'Don't worry, you'll know everything eventually.' He cackled._

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

After the Russian nation had left, England had continued to cheer lightly at his new found information, 'Time is repeating itself! That's why there's more than one Alfred! That just...how many Alfred's are there? Are there more versions of me as well?' He questioned, before coming to a small halt, "...but...if time is repeating itself...then we- we must be in the midst of another." He whispered, "...My God, it's going to go through another loop, isn't it?...I can't allow that." He hissed, slamming his fist down on the table.

Looking at the screen, he looked at the file where the videos seemed to be kept- there were only five files, "That's odd..." He muttered, but shook his head and denied himself the paradise to watch any more videos, since he had to finish the last two letters. With that- Arthur ripped open the envelope and unfolded the fading paper; beginning to read.

_Note 5_

_God._

This last note made England quirk a brow, "The hell...? He only put one damn letter on this bloody note!" He spat, "What kind of information is this?"

Infuriated with the American's lack of thought, he threw the paper away and opened the last one, only to smile in relief as Alfred had actually written something this time.

_Note 6_

_Arthur...I understand you are confused, but you are in the fifth cycle. You can't allow this to continue, you have to stop Alfred, and you have to save everyone...this whole thing is just a plot by the God's to ruin the world and give life to an eternal Sanctuary. You have to stop Alfred before he does anything stupid, the doppelganger won't bother you anymore for a while._

_You're free to leave this room, and you are free to look through every file- BUT number three. I highly urge you not to look at that video...it's not what you think it might be...that Alfred is not stable._

_My information is limited to you, due to some disturbances in the air...and because I don't have much time to write as I have to try and place things back in order._

"I can't trust anything anymore, can I?" He chuckled, setting down the note while still being slightly confused.

England turned back to the computer and stared, contemplating over the situation, before very hesitantly clicking on the play button, releasing the new found video to the Englishman.

_The camera scratched and hissed, blocking the view of any object in its way, before it was gently pulled up to view the face of the American, "A camera..." He whispered, looking around with a confused expression, "...That's strange...what is it doing here?" A button was pressed and it turned off._

_Another hiss of static and it came to life once more, showing the American hooking up the apparatus to another machine, before speaking into a speaker, "...E-England? Iggy, is that you?" He asked quietly, looking hopeful yet at the same time fearful._

It was happening again...how were they able to see him? Was this...all in his mind? "...Y-yes, of course its me...you're Alfred, right?" He asked with a tone just as delicate as the American's, "Right?"

_Nodding slightly, he sighed, "I'm so glad to be talking to you...I don't know what's happened, Iggy. I'm suddenly in this weird ghost town...and I'm being chased around by monsters and whenever I see Kiku- he runs away, whenever I see anyone else, they run away too..." He whispered sadly, "Why won't they help me?...Is it...is it because of what I did?" He asked himself, "I didn't mean to do it...well...I did but...at the same time I didn't! I swear! They...they made me think it was the only way." Alfred blabbed, before he was sharply cut off by the English man._

"Don't worry, Alfred...I'll help you." He smiled at the other nervously, "Now what seems to be the problem?"

"_Everyone...everyone is dead...because of me." He whispered quietly, "...I went so corrupt...I don't even recognize me anymore- but I had to kill them...my...my boss told me America deserved the greater part of this world...he told me we should strive for a better place...under one rule- as a world of the free...America." Alfred sighed slightly, "Everyone is dead...there was a nuclear war with China, everyone started to revert against me, eventually, you and Japan went neutral. But I couldn't have that!" He screamed._

"_I needed the world on it's knees...I needed everyone to learn that this was best for the world..." He muttered lowly, "But they wouldn't comply...so I killed every single country...one by one they didn't even know what hit them..." Alfred breathed in, but continued, "I love you both England...you and Japan...but I couldn't stand to see the way you were both starting to fear me and go into isolation- I couldn't let that happen!"_

Gulping, Arthur raised his hand at the other, "Calm down, Alfred...I love you too...but right now you have to tell me what's going on."

"_I murdered the world senselessly, before taking my own life, causing the whole world to go into chaos as the life there died. The governments fell and my people were crying, the sun eclipsed and in one second- everything was gone...just gone." He ended, whispering something quietly afterward, "...I went into a Sanctuary..."_

Looking solemnly at the other he asked, "What is it like?"

_There was a silence, before the American spoke, "It looks like the nuclear war...the sirens wailed...there were disfigured people screaming and crying, burned and bleeding...the countries were too- except for you and Japan...you both looked just as lovely as before; but neither of you would talk to me...Japan was in a coma on a silver bed...and you were in a coma on a golden bed. You were both surrounded by fire and God would not allow me to speak to either of you."_

"...Who is this...God?"

_Alfred shook his head, "You wouldn't understand...you wouldn't understand-"_

"Yes I could, Alfred-"

"_You wouldn't understand!" He screeched, seeming to attack the camera; before it went dark, and the signal faded, leaving England alone in the room._

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

_Groan..._

Shaking away the drowsiness from his eyes, Ivan sat up in the freezing room, wondering where he was exactly; the walls were darkened and rusted, along with the floors, and the windows were covered with an impenetrable foggy substance. "...Where am I...?" He whispered, forcing his tremor filled legs to stand against their will, almost tumbling to the ground before his quick reflexes sprang into action and held him up against the wall.

"I see you're awake, Russia..." Chuckled the light, two sided voice of the tiny Italian, holding both hands behind his back with an insidious smile.

Snapping his head towards the source of the voice, Ivan hissed in Feliciano's direction and backed into the wall, "What the hell did you do? I demand to know what you did with Yao you-!"

"It wouldn't be smart to insult me, Russia." He growled, eyes giving off a deadly hint through poisonous amber eyes.

Resuming his glaring, the large nation frowned deeply, he himself trying to imitate the absolute look of evil the Italian held, "What the hell do you want, Italiya? I have questions in need of serious answering." Ivan whispered with a deathly tone, "And if you don't answer soon, I might have to take drastic measures."

A scoff resounded through the room from the said Italian, who began to giggle lightly, turning it into ferocious laughter, "You think I'm _scared _of you?" He cackled out, "Not a chance." Italy pulled out his hands to reveal them covered in elongated metal claws, designed to rip apart and horribly mutilate a person, "...You know...I heard brother Spain used these a lot before...I've always wanted to see how they work." Feliciano muttered lowly with a smile, closing in on the Russian, who refused to display any emotion whatsoever.

"I am not scared by some silly weapon...I've seen worse."

"I never said I was going to kill you, Russia- that's for God to decide." He smiled, placing a claw underneath the others chin harshly, where it easily penetrated through the soft tissue and drew the slightest amount of blood forth, "I'm only going to torture you...until you do what is asked of you...until you believe in the lord...my God." Italy whispered out breathlessly with a sinister smile.

Violent violet eyes stared at the crazed Italians face, before speaking crudely to the younger man, "...I think your God is bullshit?" Ivan stated, more than answered, "I believe in God...so I haven't an idea as to what the hell you're spewing. God isn't supposed to be like that."

_Smack!_

The small Italian had grabbed a nearby blunt and smashed it against the defenseless Russian's head again, but not hard enough to knock him out like the other had.

Feliciano spoke quickly, "Not the one I believe in." Ceased the chuckled, turning into a hissing voice of hatred, "To me you're like l'anti-christo... that means you're a threat to God...and I will not allow my God to be harmed- by _anything_." He mustered, forcing the claw into the others jaw; which pierced the mouth and held the Russians tongue still; or from ever being able to work again.

A tiny chuckled came through the Italians sweetly sick lips, "...Do you...want to know what I did to Yao?" He whispered quietly, Feliciano's voice continuing to hush even further, "Do you want to know how I _brutally tortured him_?" Asked soft, cherry lips, closing in on the Russians twitching, pale ear. "Do you really want to hear how he _begged me to stop_...before I _killed_ him?"

Slowly, Feliciano's eyes began to turn a bright shade of red again, making the Russian stare in shock and hate, "Do you want to hear how he begged for non existent mercy from me?"


	9. Chapter 9

Sanctuary

Chapter 9

The slightly insulted Briton frowned and shook his head, "...Well how rude- I try to help the bloody wank and he shuts me off!" He scoffed, crossing his arms and pouting slightly, "That's the last time I try to help _him_...darn stupid idiot." Grumbled and huffed the British nation, not even noticing how the screen came back to life, fizzing slightly.

Eventually, the noise did start to get to him- since when did a _computer _act like a damn television?

Turning over to the source of the white noise, Arthur gave the computer an odd glance, "...What the hell? I'm starting to hate this strange phenomena- and what the hell is it doing?" He questioned himself, leaning over the keyboard, grasping the mouse within his pale hand, "Bloody thing better not be broken." He grumbled to himself.

While he made the move to try and exit the window he was on, it was like the screen wouldn't obey his command, "What the-? Work, dammit!" Hissed Arthur, shaking the monitor roughly, before it zapped to life in an instant, freezing him in place, "But...I- I haven't pressed play on the fourth video yet!" He screeched, wondering what was happening.

"_Of course you didn't. You're on the third video, England." Hissed a voice behind the British man's ear, completely startling him._

Turning with lightning speed, England looked around the room with an alert but confused look, "Show yourself, bastard!" He shouted, keeping his defenses up and high, considering the other Alfred had told him not to go near the third video...although it started on it's own. After a few tense moments of silence, he turned his back to the room, now facing the computer again, trying to fix it.

"_I'm right behind you, England."_ _Whispered the voice so manically, you could almost feel the broad, unyielding grin._

With another turn of his body, Arthur came face to face with a bloodied, rusting version of the room behind him; he looked around and was suddenly engulfed in an entirely too dark room, damp with blood and the smell of dead, rotting flesh. It was repulsive, the smell of rust and iron was so strong, England almost gagged, but remembered what happened to the vomiting American.

"_What?" Hissed a voice, "Are you **scared**?" It laughed loudly, showing itself from the shadows, walking right over to the Englishman without a hint of hesitation. A crazed version of Alfred stalked out with a malicious, blood soaked grin, the corners of his mouth ripped apart and sowed back together in a horrid, messy job of mangled flesh, "Did you miss me, England? I know I missed you guys..." He inhaled sharply, "I really did **miss** you guys..." Alfred hummed, giving a content sigh, "Having you guys for dinner was **delightful**." He hissed with a psychotic grin._

Slowly backing away from the man, Arthur whispered quietly in a sense of fear and horror, "Fuck...G-get away from me!" He screeched, backing away even faster as the man dragged his feet towards him menacingly, "I'm telling you to get the hell away, you anomaly!" Screamed Arthur, feeling a dreaded sensation well up within him.

It was telling him to run but at the same time...he felt like if he did that; the other would catch up in no time.

"_Oh, but England...don't you want me to help out?" He cackled, "Because in here, your soul is **all mine**." _

Thinking quickly, Arthur burst into action, his eyes picking up a sharp object set on the table; of course it was only a box cutter, but in a situation like this, there's no way he could let anything past him. And what he saw next was baffling, the other just smiled even wider, trying to hold back insane laughter; before he pulled his hands up, and in a strange second- Alfred had two scythes in his hands.

"_I have the upper hand here, England. You're in Sanctuary...MY Sanctuary to be precise...and in here, I'm the reaper." He motioned the sharp, razor edged weapons._

"There's no way I'll let you have me- I'm getting back my Alfred, damn it! I can't just leave him in there, and I'm not dying so soon!" Yelled back Arthur with a small sense of determination for his son.

_The demented copy examined the other up and down, "...Trust me, England...you wouldn't have a single chance against me, because in here I can kill without getting punished for it. Just like I killed ALL of you, without getting punished. And now, we're going to repeat this nightmarish waltz."_

Giving the other an argument, the Brit scoffed, "I don't think you will have that repeat- so why don't you just kill yourself?"

"_Oh but...I did kill myself." He started, "After I realized Kiku wouldn't come back from the dead, well...I just had to follow him and get him back, didn't I?" He hissed out, looking slightly to England's right, where the storage closet was located, giving the other a hint; to choose and see if he had actually caught Kiku or not._

Glancing over at the closet, emerald green eyes glared at the monster, before ever so slowly, creeping his hands towards the handle, clutching the rusted metallic knob and twisting it open. As soon as the door was allowed to hang loose, it opened to reveal the nation of Japan, falling to the floor; gagged and tied, more than likely dead, "What did you do to him?" Arthur spoke as he looked back at the monster Alfred had become in the third past.

_He seemed to think about it for a moment, "...Well, I tortured him until he died. But don't worry...you can't truly die in Sanctuary- he's still alive there." He motioned to the body with a smirk, "You wouldn't want to hear what I did to him in detail, so I think I'll keep that part a secret."_

Arthur glared at him, "You're disgusting...I don't even want anything to _do_ with your past." He snarled, before moving in front of Kiku's supposedly 'alive' body. The other was more insane than he thought, and there's no way in hell he was going to show a hint of kindness to this bastard.

_The knives in the others hands clanked against each other, creating a screech of rusted metal on metal, trying it's hardest to move against each other. Alfred stared at the man with an emotionless, blood red gaze, before dragging his feet towards the other, not at all feeling threatened by a silly knife, "You know, I think I'll have my fun with the both of you again...I've always wanted to try and relive the past." He chuckled, forcing the heavy metallic spears up into the air, before slamming them down, where they dropped through the floor, and pulled them back up, lifting with it a body._

_Whatever it was, looked like a corpse- a copy of England's body, to be more precise. And Alfred seemed to have no trouble kicking it towards the shaking Brit, "That's you...it's what happened when you tried to tell me how to live my life again. You told me I shouldn't be hurting others, but you just never understood how **fun** it was to kill other nations with a single hand." He chuckled._

The body was missing an arm and was showing the bones penetrating through skin in a repulsive way, it made England shiver in fear and disgust. Damn everything, he didn't want to stop looking through the files- he still had to find Alfred...there's no way he was stopping at that.

"_I know what you want England...and I can give it to you- but only if you really want it." Smirked Alfred, trying to make him grab the bait._

"I don't want anything to do with you, and I don't care what you try to do to me, I'm going to live through this and get Alfred back." He hissed, glaring even harder at the past.

"_I'll let you live if you do what I say." He muttered, keeping that eerie smile, "I can let you go along here, in Sanctuary...I won't follow you, but I'll let you look around. Take a good look and see if you can even find a hint as to where your son is at." Alfred chuckled, "But if you don't find him...then you're all mine."_

"I said I didn't want anything to do with you! There isn't any way I can possibly trust you, you bast- AH!" He screamed, looking down at his foot, where he realized there was no longer a Japanese nation on the floor, but a feathered cuff on his leg that had randomly clasped onto him, "What is this-?"

The American looked over, shocked, before glaring deeply at him with a snarl, "_That fucking Jap..._" He hissed, pulling back his scythe and neatly throwing it at England, hoping to hit him. 

Before the others weapon could reach him, the Briton felt himself drift away, emerald green orbs disappearing behind creamy, white skin, and short but thick lashes. The Englishman had fallen unconscious, drifting away from the room he was in, going through a sudden blur and a feeling of hopelessness, before it all left him behind with a light drop to the floor on earth.

He seemed to have been transported back into the room he was in somehow; the computer turned off and disconnected from the wall. The feathered cuff was gone, along with everything else.

"_Arthur...wake up, Arthur." Whispered two voices at the same time, synchronizing steadily, disguising the master behind the voice._

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

"F-Feli? A sacrifice?" Whispered Antonio, unsure of what was even going on, before his chocolate haired lover began to cry again slightly, then those cries turned to loud sobs and slight thrashing.

"GET OUT! Get it out of my head, Antonio!" He shrieked, "It's killing me! IT'S KILLING ME!" Screamed Romano, covering his ears in a futile attempt to stop whatever was hurting his ears, "Make it stop- It hurts! IT HURTS!" He screeched one last time, before elbowing the man holding him steady in case he attempted to get away.

"Lovino, calm down! Please- there's nothing around you!" He shouted back, trying to ignore the pain in his right cheek and the blood flowing from the large gash in his mouth his teeth had caused.

Romano shook his head frantically, trying to get away from the man and the horrid noise in his ear, it almost sounded like someone was talking to him, but he didn't want anything to do with it- "Leave me alone! Please, just go away!" He cried loudly, the tears from his eyes quickly turning from clear white to a deep, dark black.

Antonio quickly took notice of this and placed the Italian on the bed, "Lovi- Lovi are you alright? Talk to me, Lovino!" He whispered, shakily petting the man's hair, trying to calm him down.

The Southern Italian shook his head, "It hurts, Antonio! There's a voice- it's talking to me and it hurts my head!" Cried Romano, feeling alone and in an incurable amount of pain.

_Come here...walk towards me..._

_Don't cry...I won't hurt you..._

"NO! **I don't CARE **what you want me to do!" Cried Lovino, slamming his hand down upon the already destroyed wall, "Please, leave me alone!" He sobbed, a tanned hand holding his hair in a desperate attempt to remove the pain, or in an effort to relieve the pain, although all he managed was accidentally ripping into the skin of his hands with his nails and leaving black blood to trickle down his arm.

Softly petting the others hair, Antonio bit his lip, holding back a sob as tears tried to escape the forest green chambers, "...L-Lovino, please stop crying...everything will be okay. I promise..." He whispered, standing up quickly, and running out the door in a rush, heading to some unknown destination while the other held himself in a tight ball.

"A-Antonio...?" Asked Lovino, his hazel eyes looking around the area, quickly changing color to a give it a lusty red tint, "Antonio! Please- they're hurting me!" He shouted, closing his eyes from the pain.

The other had returned quickly, holding a small needle, holding some kind of content within it, "Don't worry, Lovino- we're only going to see Feliciano...and I need you to be calm for this." He whispered, stalking closely to the man, who growled at him and glared sharply, giving Antonio a strong chill.

His eyes had gone a completely demonic, dark red, almost as if he were the very epitome of hate, those eyes radiated so much pain and disgrace, such a rush and want for murder, they seemed almost unreal, "**Get away from me with that thing!**" He screeched, reaching out with his hands, where his nails once were, were now only the claws of his fingers, pointing hazardously at Antonio.

"L-Lovino, calm down!" He begged, raising his hands as a form of saying he meant no harm, "Please, we have to go see Feliciano."

"I don't trust you..." He whispered, eyes turning redder and a more bloodied crimson shade as his tears turned pitch black, and every vein underneath his now pale skin was showing with a very visible dark color, "...**I don't trust you!**" He nearly screamed, getting up off the bed and charging at the Spaniard with a feral snarl and his hands raised into a readied attack position.

Antonio took this moment to twist the Italian's arm around and snatch him in a choke hold, "I'm sorry, mi Lovino." He apologized beforehand, painlessly injecting the needle into the others neck, where the liquids within began to work almost immediately as the others thrashing slowly subsided, "...It's okay now...we're going." Finished Antonio, kissing the others hair lightly with a small disapproving frown.

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

_Snow._

That was all he saw, it was everywhere- there was not one place where the snow hadn't reached.

Alfred panted slightly as he ran through the large amusement park he had run upon earlier, searching for any kind of hint or _anything_ really. "Fuck..." He hissed out, "I don't get it! Where the hell am I?" This situation confused the living hell out of him- he was sure he was in a series of tunnels, then he was suddenly in a deserted theme park.

Another look around and he decided to just sit on the edge of a broken down carousel ride, laden with horses and frozen lights. He placed his hands on his forehead and sighed, "...Damn it...what the hell do I do?" He questioned himself, "I wish I had Kiku here! He seemed to know what the hell was going on...but then that bastard took him. I have to get Kiku back before anything happens to him..." He whispered, looking down at the ground, before closing his eyes for the tiniest second.

Once he reopened them, he found himself staring up at a hole in the wall, where ashes were slowly falling down on him, already half engulfing his body. He lay sprawled on the floor with his bomber jacket slightly shredded, along with his pants, "...What..." He said slowly, unsure at what was happening.

Ocean blue eyes looked up at the gray, uncaring sky, feeling a sense of despair and loneliness for the first time, or at least, the one time he thought there was no God...but there had to be...there absolutely had to. Alfred groaned, picking himself up with bent arms, dusting off the ashes falling endlessly from the clouded space above him.

"What is going on...?" He asked no one in particular, only wanting answers to help him in his adventure.

_Dun..._

_Dun..._

What was that?

_Dun..._

It sounded like a bell, "...Is it a church bell?" He asked uncertainly, "...It sounds like it." Another resounding drum echoed through the area, almost shaking the fragile structure he was in. Now that he thought about it...hadn't he been in a completely darkened area under the farm house? "...Where am I _now_?" Came the question.

Looking down both ways in the hallway, he recognized a door he had seen on his first time here, "...This is where I started...where I woke up and then..." Died.

_Drip, drip, drip._

_CRASH._

The loud noise made Alfred turn in alarm, only to see nothing there, although, he was fairly certain the thing would be coming soon. With no hesitation on his mind, he ran towards the end of the hallway, forgetting to grab a weapon. Once he reached the end, he saw a fork which led him in two separate directions, but he was sure he shouldn't head towards any...so he listened.

He walked towards the wall in front of him, before slowly approaching the rusted, deteriorating wall with his ear to take a listening. Raising his hand towards the same spot, he tapped it, listening in, checking to see if it was hollow; and it was.

Alfred detached himself from the wall and brought back his fist, before slamming it right down on the area where his ear was, which caused a massive explosion of ashes and dust. As he waited for the dirt to settle down, America waited patiently before stepping through the large hole he had created, his vision quickly adjusting to the blurry darkness.

Once his vision cleared and he was able to see what lay beyond the wall, he took a large jump back, "Oh my God-"

_CRASH._

_SCREEEECH._

Turning back towards the source of the noise, he came face to face with the creature, only a few feet behind him. Alfred ran into the hole he had created, leaping over the various bodies strewn across the floor in the small, claustrophobic area. It didn't matter what lacerated body parts he stepped on, or how the room smelled just like the rotting flesh beneath his shoes, only his survival was an option.

He could hear the monster behind him, closing in on him through the small hallway that was in the room- he needed to get out of here quickly, "Fuck-"

_Alfred...!_

"What the hell?" Hissed the American under his breath, before resuming his thought process for a second, "...Kiku?" Before that sentence could be finished, Alfred realized he couldn't feel the mush of dead, festering bodies beneath his feet. Now was the time he actually looked down in time to see a drop that had to be _deep_, considering he couldn't even see the bottom of it.

"FUCK!" He shouted as he felt himself fall down the seemingly random drop in the center of the hallway; looking up, he saw the monster staring down at him with a snarl on its deformed features while holding onto a decapitated arm with its severed mouth and razor sharp teeth. He felt immensely lucky, but then remembered he just fell down a hole that appeared endless.

For a moment, he thought he was going to die; the time around him was sluggish, and his senses all seemed to slow. His vision watched a he fell, slowly sliding down the air, skin barely feeling the light blow of wind against him, everything was lasting an eternity; the drop was endless, and going slower than an hour with nothing to do.

And yet quicker than he could even process, everything went dark and numb as his conscious faded to nothingness.

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

"Wait- of course you don't!" Italy cut himself off, "But why shouldn't I tell you anyways? The way I starved him...the way I maimed and tortured him until he actually broke down, crying to see _Kiku_." He hissed out lightly, truly loathing the other, but only because of what had happened to Germany- look alike or not, he wouldn't forgive him- although the real Kiku was still his friend.

In a sudden gist of shock, Feliciano heard a terrible screeching noise resonating from within his own head, compelling him to clutch his head in pain with his only free hand, "Ah!...S-stop...!" He whined loudly, falling to his knees for a few seconds as the horrid noise continued to get louder, "Stop it! STOP!" He screamed, "I'm sorry! I-I'm...ahh!"

_'Don't do it again.'_ Whispered a god-like voice, merging with everything around it to conceal it's actual identity, _'That was only a warning to my most loyal and closest child. Behave, Feliciano.'_

"I- I won't! I won't!" He cried, not even caring much about the Russian anymore at the moment, due to the still screeching headache, "Please-please stop it!" Begged the man, "I learned my lesson!"

There was no answer, but a sudden gust of wind and an eerie silence, before everything seemed to return to normal- almost as if nothing happened, besides the Mediterranean nation's eyes going back to a sweet honey color, and yet still holding the ferocity of evil within them.

"D-don't worry, Ivan..." Spoke Italy, composing himself, "...I'll make sure to torture you _slowly_." Chuckled the Italian, clutching the claws tightly and deeply in the others cheek.

"Why would you try to ruin my plans...? Don't you want the paradise God has given us...?" Then came another dark and shrill cackle, "What, cat got your tongue?" He joked, forcing the claws to go deeper into the others jaw and bleeding mouth, "You can cry if you want to, I would love to see you cry." He whispered, his own voice breaking, and eyes turning a strange shade of blue now, instead of the demonic red.

But the Russian only gave him a sharp glare, his vision going hazy for some strange reason, before he forced his jaw to work, not matter how painful it was, "You're insane."

A silent gulp and a quick shake of his head, "N-no...I'm not insane. I'm- get out of my head!" He screamed, clutching his head again, although instead of pain, all he felt now was a serene peace unlike he's ever felt before, "Get out! Who are you?" Feliciano shrieked again, clutching his hair, in the meantime pulling the claw out of the others face.

Making sure the other wasn't looking at him, the large nation made a run for it, only to be obstructed by a white mist overcoming the wall, almost like some sort of shield to keep him in, "Damn..." He whispered painfully, blood seeping out of the hole in his cheek, which he now held tightly with a pale hand.

"Get out!" Feliciano cried out, eyes turning an almost ethereal blue, "Who are you?"

_'Feliciano...' Whispered an unknown voice, sounding like music instead of an actual voice, '...Don't do this...just let him go, Feliciano.'_

But the Italian didn't want to hear it, he quickly reached the golden bible he had created, which was not too far away, "Get out of my head! God! God, help me!" As quickly as he spoke those words, his eyes left the strange blue shade, transferring back to the blood red, "...Dio..." He mumbled, a tear running down his face, "Thank you." With that he closed his eyes and fell back, unconscious.

Russia stared back at the other, unsure of what to make from the situation at hand, he could barely even process it through his mind, "...What is this?" But before he could finish that sentence, his violet eyes caught the sight of Italy's double, glaring at him from a corner of the room, wide smile on it's face, only staring, making the atmosphere eerie and alarming, "What do you want?" Hissed Ivan.

_'You're going to die soon.' Was muttered from the others lips, '...God is looking for a certain something, and now I know what he's looking for is close.' There came a sigh, 'Then he can be happy...'_

Taking a risky chance, he spoke, "...Why would he be happy...?"

_'Shh...' Answered Italy, before walking over to him, grabbing his hand lightly, 'Follow me.' He spoke, trying his hardest to conceal the smirk on his lips._

"I do not trust you-" Russia snatched his arm away, stepping away from the spirit double, "-you're just as insane as America."

_'It's okay...I wasn't asking,' He chuckled._

And everything went black.

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

Awakening from the deep unconsciousness he had been in, the Russian stood before a mirror, in a bathroom he had no idea even existed, with a golden bible atop the sink. Looking around the strange place, he noticed how it was pristine, and cleaner than he had ever seen something be clean, "...Italiya?" He asked quietly, wondering where he was.

_'Hello, Ivan.' Whispered a calm voice, but not at all soothing, '...It seems to be your time...' It whispered._

"Are you Italy's clone? What the fuck do you want?" He hissed gruffly.

_'Look at the mirror, Ivan.' He continued to speak, 'It won't be painful, and it will be quick...God wants to have a word with you, and I won't deny his request.'_

The Russian looked in the mirror, seeing only the Italian nation inside, smiling deviously at him, although, he was sure it was just that strange clone, "I refuse his request." He muttered with a hateful sneer, "You can go fuck yourself."

_Italy didn't seem pleased, instead just glaring, 'Don't worry...I can take you by force.' He chuckled, extending his arms out of the mirror, and when he did that everything began to rot away, revealing decaying flesh and tumorous holes in the wall, it's as if everything just turned to hell, going dark and sinister like the Italian in the mirror._

_Extending cracking bones and damaged hands out of the mirror, blood began to drip from the reflective glass, the hands turning an ashy gray and rotting, sending the putrid smell through the room, 'Come to me...and together, I will help open paradise.' He whispered, taking hold of the Russian with blood hungry, demonic red eyes and a ripped smile, 'Join me in **paradise**.'_

The second skin touched skin, Ivan hissed loudly, feeling as if it were burning him, "Get the hell off of me!" He hissed, and tried to escape, but the restraints around his arms denied him that request, "Fuck off you damned demon!" He screeched, feeling his skin melt away under the strange force.

In a second he could barely process, his arms were ripped away from the wall, leaving only two bleeding stumps, and a horrified expression with an ear piercing scream full of torment. He was forced head first into the mirror, where his skull collided with something harsh, and was ground into little strands of skin and bloodied meat, "Shit!" He cried, being forced through a painful, fist clenching experience.

With no time to spare, his body was torn apart and forced into the black hole the mirror had become, bones churning and pulverizing as if he were put through a meat grinder. The blood had splattered everywhere, around the mirror, into the sink; creating little puddles on the floor, making it look like a work of art.

_Appearing in front of the mirror again, he muttered quietly, 'L'anti-christo is one with us now, and we are one step closer to Sanctuary.' Before he disappeared and the room began to glow a vibrant white, morphing back to it's usual pristine state. It was almost as if it didn't happen._

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

Still inside the store, he decided it was best to walk towards the church now, since he might find something interesting, "...Are you going to say anything about my destination?" He asked lightly at the voice, who did not answer, prompting him to speak again, "...Hello?"

He almost slapped himself, "What am I doing? I'm talking to myself..." He grumbled, walking out the door and through the rubble of the town.

_Then the siren rang_.

Looking around wildly, Ludwig seemed surprised at the sudden sound, "Gott..." He whispered, backing into the store once more from the noise, "What's happening now?" Ludwig asked himself, hiding behind the concrete walls of the small shop.

_'It's a very special event...' Sighed the voice._

The paint peeled from the wall to reveal bloodied rust and tiles broke from the floor, cracking and shattering into pieced as the walls fell apart, exposing fallen pipes and wires from the lights. The more the siren wailed, the darker the place seemed to get, almost as if introducing a darkness of some sort, "Don't let this kill me..."

Everything went black, leaving the German vulnerable in the dark abyss through which he could not see.

_'It's not safe here for you, Luddy.' Chuckled the Italian accented voice, 'You should run.'_

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH_

_AHHHHHHHH!_

Floors were shaking with the walls, almost like the earth itself was afraid.

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

Antonio reached the front door of a large building, knocking on the door quickly, hoping someone would open, "...Hello~?" He sang, although the quirkiness was missing, "...I thought Italy was still at the meeting?" He asked quietly, looking around the deserted courtyard.

Determined to get in, he tested his luck by twisting open the handle and to his amazement, the door opened without resistance, as if the people were not even here, so he hesitated, "Hello? This is the country of Spain, I'm coming in now..." He shouted lightly, walking into the building, carrying the now calmed Italian.

Across the long, deserted hallway stood an Italian, waving wildly at them, "Antonio! You brought fratello!" He cheered, waving them over, "Come on, follow me! I've got the best room in the building!" He spoke with an innocent accent before heading away towards his room at full sprint.

"Ah, Feliciano, wait a moment!" Shouted the Spaniard, running after the other at a slower pace due to the extra weight, "Feliciano, wait!" He continued to yell, turning the corner to see nothing but the vast hallway...wait a minute...the very last door was open.

Feeling curious, he ran all the way down the hall, checking to see who else was there, "...Hello?" He called, opening the door a bit more to peek inside, "Who's in-"

"Get the hell out!" Screamed Alfred, running out of a random room in his own dorm completely covered in blood with blood red eyes, "Get out!" He hissed venomously, lunging at the other only to meet face to face with a closing door, "Fucking shit!" He screamed running a hand down his face and back down to his exposed stomach, organs very much viewable, but held in place.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He screeched, slamming his palms against the door, creating large dents in the wood and causing splinters to spread around the area, "GIVE ME KIKU!"

Spain took a large gulp behind the door and sighed anxiously, "...What the hell is going on?" He muttered, looking back down the hall to see the now aghast Italian wave him over.

"...A-Antonio, come over here! Don't go near that room..." He whispered, honeyed eyes wide and stunned, "Come over here!" He shouted lightly while pointing to his room, "It's not too safe over there..."

Immediately running back two doors down the hall, the brown haired Spaniard looked at the other with startled views, "...Feli...what happened to Alfredo?"

Shooing him inside, Italy had thrown the Spanish nation into his bedroom and shut the door behind him, before looking back at the emerald-eyed man, "Things haven't been too well, Antonio...some strange things started happening." He muttered quietly, walking over to him with a rushed cognizance, "I can't even explain half of these things..."

Hushing his voice to the others level, he asked, "Like what?"

Italy smiled a bit, "Something like..." His eyes turned a deep red with a feral glare and hostel smirk, "..._This_."

"Qué demonios-!" Shouted Spain, cradling Lovino closely to him as the other advanced on him, baring savage fangs across a usually genuine smile.

"Your life...is so _insignificant_." He muttered, "And that is why I don't feel enough for you...to cry." Feliciano stroked the others cheek.

Everything seemed to blur at the moment, making Antonio squint his eyes as his mind slowly darkened into a deep slumber.

_'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '_

_Alfred..._

Ocean blue eyes opened wide behind light blonde lashes, creamy skin turning pale as he awoke in an unknown room filled with blood and rain falling in. There were no walls, only rusted fences surrounding him and a lone door into the unknown building before him.

"What...Just happened?" He asked himself quietly, taking a large leap of faith and opening the door to the building, which showed the only source of lights being the ones that were flickering eerily. Whatever this place was had to be large, considering it had many rooms lining its walls and a large double-door at the end of the hallway.

_Step, step, step._

Maneuvering himself through the broken hallway, tiles cracked and out of place, most of the doors either locked or broken, '_What is this place?_' Alfred wondered to himself, eyes scanning the rooms for any sort of clue- until he spotted one.

_Patient Wing Hall_

"This is some sort of hospital, huh?" He asked lightly, walking through the entrance door as well, and into another hallway, designed for the doctors and nurses, "Kind of weird looking for a hospital." He chuckled, continuing in the hallway.

_AAAAAHHHHHH!_

Alfred ducked his head, alert and steady at the sudden scream that echoed the hallways, "What the fuck-!"

_UAAAAGGGHHHHH!_

Not needing another word to run the hell away from the source of it, he turned towards the door he came from and pulled it open, running over to the nearest open door and shutting it closed behind him. Looking over the room he had entered, he almost regretted it.

The walls were padded as if with cushy pillows and yet splattered with one of the asylum patient's blood. Cringing at the crude gore Alfred almost looked away, until something caught his eyes in the midst of all the bodily fluids, "...6214" Whoever bled to death here wrote some random number...but he didn't know what it was for. Should he even investigate?

He would, if only there weren't so many dangers, not to mention he needed a weapon _badly_. Sighing, he gave up his safety for a moment just to find out what the hell the number was for- he had to find the nurse's station, or the doctor's office.

With a yank, he pulled open the door and walked out calmly, looking around for anything he could use as a weapon. Sadly he found none, and hurriedly rushed to the door he had ran from, twisting it open with a light creak and peeking in through the crack he had made, and not a noise was heard.

Pacing through the darkness, he reached the door he had been looking for, dubbed _nurses station_, "I hope it's not locked..." He muttered, winding the knob which to his delight opened wide for him to see a nicely lit room. Alfred walked in, closing the door behind him gently, "So this is the station...we just have to find-" Right on one of the nurses desks sat a flashlight, "...Just my luck." He smiled, clutching it tightly, "I fucking love hospitals now!"

Looking over at the lone desk, he laid eyes on a set of paper's for a few patient's in the wing he had just walked out of, "...Alfred...Jones..." The smile he held had completely left his system, "W-well they're missing a letter! Ha-ha...it...it couldn't have possibly been me, I'm right here!" Continuing to read the papers, they wrote:

_Alfred Jones_

_Has had a history of hospitalization as well as numerous assault, battery and other violent offenses._

_He has a strong persecution complex and a tendency to solve things through violence._

_Extreme caution necessary._

_He has attempted suicide three times in the past for unknown reasons._

_Although he is normally a model patient who follows orders, he must be watched closely due to his _

_past patterns of sudden and violent suicide attempts._

_His illness seems to be rooted in the fact that he believes he is guilty for his lover's death._

_Symptoms suggest a psychotic break and paranoid delusions._

_Normally calm, but has a tendency towards violence when provoked._

Breathing a sigh of relief he said, "Now I know it's not me!" He laughed lightly, "I've never even thought of suicide, I've never had a lover and I've never been hospitalized!" At least, not in a mental institution. With a little relaxation, he looked for more papers, but found none.

At least there were more doors he could try, "Good thing this wasn't such a dead end." Running over to another, it led him into a second room, "This is some weird back up room." He laughed, looking straight at the shotgun he had seen inside a broken box.

The room was dark and damp, but filled with endless papers and much information that would possibly come useful to Alfred, who had indeed picked up another file from a doctor, "It's just some stuff about an illness." He muttered, "...Sanctuary? But it's not talking about the town..." About to set the files back down, his eyes caught sight of a key stashed under the papers.

"Must be for an elevator." He whispered, reading the small inscription on its broad end, before turning his attention to a large aid kit that was hidden behind the door, "...This really is an unlucky lucky day, huh?" But he didn't smile, there was no use to get his hopes up; for all he knew there could be decapitated hands in there.

Pushing his fears away, he opened it, and relief flooded his senses at seeing everything he could use if he had potentially hurt himself. There was also this strange red liquid in there- "Is that blood?" He wondered, looking at it closely, "Maybe for a transfusion...but what would it be doing here? And in a bottle?" It probably wasn't blood.

Grabbing the bottle and opening the lid, he sniffed it. The liquid had the sweetest aroma he had ever even imagined, it was surreal to him, "Damn!" But he shouldn't try it for now, there was no telling what the hell it was; but it couldn't have been blood...actually...since it was most likely not blood, why not give it a try?

Taking a gentle swing at the liquid, he tasted a sip and nearly moaned, "This shit is fucking delicious! It tastes more like juice though...medical juice." He smiled, grabbing the small pouch that had been in the case and stashing it with whatever he could fit. There were two bottles of the red liquid, a mini first aid kit, three ampoules and the keys he needed- which he had just found a second one right in the cupboard that was possibly for either another patient's room, or something else.

"Daddy just hit the jackpot." He muttered, turning on the flashlight and lighting the room, "It looks like I'm good, since there's nothing else that I need here." He murmured, walking into the room he had started in and grabbing the shotgun, along with a few shells that were strewn about before strolling out with a sense of confidence.


	10. Chapter 10

Sanctuary

Chapter 10

The German nation looked around in shock, unsure of what actions to take on the sudden change of events- "Why is it getting darker?" He hissed, but walked towards the door anyways and peeked out, checking to make sure there was nothing that could potentially harm him. Nothing, the coast was clear; then again he could barely see a few feet before him.

Not taking the chance to stay behind in that small corner store, Ludwig made a run for it, legs barely skidding across the ground as he ran for his life. Electric blue eyes strained to see in the dark, unable to spot what could be a threat, his body's sense of direction gone, and he was left defenseless. Merely an ant beneath a shoe.

As he was running, he swore he could hear the scuttling of feat behind him, trailing after him quietly and quickly. He dared not stop, only glanced back quickly and continued to run; the scuttling only grew closer. "L-Ludwig, I'm scared!" Shouted a timid voice that echoed through the man's mind like a sharp wave of electricity. Germany made a quick stop, turning back and trying to make sure that what he said was real.

"...F-Feliciano? Is that you?!" He asked in an alarmed yet hushed voice, receiving no reply. Hesitating at first, he continued to run in the blind direction he was headed, hopefully it would lead him to the church. Right now, there was no room for error, because the tiniest slip could very well take his life.

_Crunch, crunch, crunch..._

"Ludwig, I'm scared..." Whispered the same voice the man had heard, but it went on ignored by the muscular man. The soundless footsteps seemed so ghostly, as if they were there but weren't.

As if something existed, and yet it didn't. It was mind boggling to Ludwig- he's never had that strange feeling before, could he have been imagining it?

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Dead silence drifted through the room like death; everything was much too surreal- it was like a dream...or a nightmare. Just too unreal. Emerald green eyes opened from their trance, staring up at a white ceiling, unmoving and boring yet so amusing to the man. Arthur heard himself groan and sit up, his back cracking a few times from the uncomfortable position it had on the cold floor, "...What happened?" He asked himself, rubbing the back of his head as he looked around.

He was back in the room with the computer staring at him, already unplugged from the wall and dead, "...I remember..." He whispered, thinking back deeply to the situation that happened, "But why are there so many pasts?" He spoke quietly, standing up from the floor and calmly walking towards the computer, stroking the keys softly, "...I'm not messing with you anymore."

Turning to the door, Arthur jogged over to it, placing a still hand upon the handle before giving it a twist. It opened with an absolutely wretched sound that he was sure could wake up the dead as it screeched across the floor. Once it hung ajar on the wall, Arthur stepped out quietly, not hearing a single noise in the distance of the lone hallways.

Now that he thought about it...Russia never returned with Italy...and Russia would have surely come back in here with Yao in hand- did they leave the building? Had Alfred's doppelganger done something to scare them off? "Hello?" Asked Arthur, already down the hall, peeking into rooms; looking for the missing nations.

Yet there was no answer as he thoroughly searched this first hallway, maybe they were in another section of the building. The Briton turned to leave the hallway, speedily running to the opposite end and opening the large door that led to another section of dorms and even larger corridors.

Glancing both ways down the halls, Arthur deemed it safe to leave and step into the passageway towards another large door the led to the second dormitory. That was when-

_Boom._

_Crash!_

The door at one end of the hallway had mysteriously combusted in on itself, some pieces of wood splintered and on the floor in pieces. Arthur held his head as his vision suddenly began to blur and he toppled to the floor as if his legs could not work for him. "What the hell-?" He hissed under his breath, a sudden panic went through his veins like wildfire as it told him to get up and run.

But he knew he couldn't, he was too disoriented to move from his spot, instead coming to a slow crawl across the floor, desperate to reach the dorms for help, "Shit-" Another thud had escaped form the door as it collapsed to the floor.

_Screech._

_Screeech._

_Screeeech._

The noise of blades against blades resounded through the chasm, sounding like knives being dragged across each other in a slow dance of agony. Arthur's mind was too slow to process the event as two long and slender rusted metallic weapons poked out of the hole.

As the creature tried to pull itself out of the binds, a long, sinister howl of the air raid siren consumed the world. This made Arthur's mind revert to the times of war, "...An air raid siren..." He whispered, a tremor running through his body as he pulled himself off the ground, body walking weakly towards the dorms door. As he opened and entered he barely saw the monster come out and turn towards him.

It was covered in an odd shade of gray skin with no eyes, mouth or nose, just like a lump of skin and a strange black substance that leaked from it's reputed chest. It crawled over the door and allowed it's bloodied half body to drag on the floor, staring straight at England.

There he closed the door, firmly locking it behind him as he walked along the corridors, unsure of where to head as he once again called out, "Hello?!" To anyone that could hear his shouts for help.

But nothing was heard in reply- it was almost as if the entire area was desolate of human life, he didn't even dare think of what that thing in the larger corridor had been. Walking into what was supposed to be the American's room, he found the key he had sought to what was going on. Beyond the window was the open world, cold and unmoving- much different than what it had been a mere few minutes ago. Everything had a shallow cover of dust and was frigid to the touch.

"...What the bloody hell happened?" He stated more than asked, looking out the window with a far off expression.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Stepping into the pathway of darkness, Alfred scanned the hall in all directions, making sure not a thing was in sight. After a few timid steps, he decided to jog through the darkened area with his handy flashlight, "There's so many rooms..." He muttered, continuing to jog to another patient wing, trying to see if there would be any use for the number '6214'.

It had been mindless minutes as he pulled on knobs or twisted them only to find them either broken or locked, and if they were locked the keys he had wouldn't budge them. That is until he ran into the very last door in the patient hall, it was open and ready for a searching.

Alfred stepped in cautiously, leaving the door unattended as he stepped in-

_WHAM._

The door had slammed shut.

Alfred tried with all his might to rip the door off its hinges, to no avail, even with years of rusting it stood sturdy. Looking back into the room as a scuttle was heard across the ceiling, Alfred shone his light at the source, only to cower back in fear, "O-oh fuck, oh fuck!" He cried lightly, pulling on the door knob, then proceeding to bang on the door, "Let me out! Let me the fuck out!" He screeched.

On the ceiling there was a humanoid half body; it only had two male torsos and one held onto the wall with his wrists jammed into a wheel on the surface of the wall, unable to escape as his lower half dangled from the upper body and reached down at Alfred with it's spindly arms. They were both a dark shade of white with the veins popping out on the surface, eyes just two bloodied holes and the mouth a crushed mess dripping with a strange black fluid.

It spun towards the American with great speeds, managing to take hold of the others hair and pull him in closely, in the meantime opening it's mouth for the new found dinner.

"Oh hell no!" Hissed Alfred, pulling up his shot gun and aiming it at the monsters face, "Scream for me you piece of shit!" He screamed in the sudden adrenaline rush as he pulled the trigger, a loud gunshot penetrating through the thing's skull and blasting it's brain onto the wall behind it, some of it onto Alfred's already dirtied face.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The church held such precise craftsmanship, some strange light peeking in from it's multicolored windows even though the outside world was engulfed in iniquity. Marble floors were glowing in a holy manner, it was like the church was heaven itself; glowing with an untouched purity.

"The time when all will be forgiven their sins..." Whispered a voice, angelic and calm, "When the sanctuary we have all dreamed of will arrive." Spoke the man, pale hand setting it's fingers across the bible as instructed to do over several years, "...After judgment and atonement; there shall be an eternity of bliss."

The dark brown eyes seemed to smile with his lips, "Oh, God...the world you wanted is almost here." Came the smooth and loving words, before raising a silver bible with intricate gold carvings and showing his pearly white teeth once more, "It's time...for our daily prayer. God will one day forgive our sins and this world will come into salvation."

Once the man had finished his sentence, a symphony of infernal and satanic voices began to chant as if in some grotesque, evil trance. All were synchronized with the damned tune of hell, as if representing exactly what 'torment' meant in the devil's constricting clutches.

The prayers reverberated throughout the church, scaring away the souls that would be there if they were existent. A smile came from the onyx haired man's lips, who joined in at the near end of the prayer, beginning to hymn the lyrics of a supposed prayer, putting an end to the demonic voices.

Lights forced themselves through the windows, intensifying their saturation through to the beautiful, broken down church in the heart of a tragedy.

Beneath the layers of a gorgeous lie, in the deepest parts of the labyrinth, lay a mess of cells and diamond fencing that substituted for floors. The entire area was nearly pitch black except for the few lights that could actually make it into the blackened room. Beneath the fencing on the floor, you could see that it seemed to go on forever without a stop- it looked like an eternal drop-off.

In the middle of this room was a small, binding cage that looked like a rounded coffin with many metallic protrusions coming from the enclosure. The shape it made resembled a large flower holding a bud in it's center- except the bud was a young man, sobbing with his arms bound to his chest and a blindfold covering chocolate brown eyes.

The white sheets he wore around his body were stained with blood, grime and rust. The drapes were soaked so densely with blood and other bodily fluids that it made it an absolute misery to stay in such an uncomfortable place. But there was no escape for the Japanese nation, he was forcefully bound to that restraint by some unseen force.

"Save me..." He whispered, still sobbing, tears dripping as blood and staining the sheets more, "Alfred." He cried lightly, trembling in his strained position, "Alfred!" He screamed loudly, begging for any sort of help that would come and rescue him before this insanity surrounding him drove him mad.

"Don't cry, Kiku..." Cooed an unseen voice, echoing through the void, "I'll save you...and eventually you'll be mine." A depressing chuckle was heard, "...Kiku...my dear. I'm so sorry I ever hurt you."

The Asians lips trembled, "S-stop it! I'm not him!" He shouted, "Let me go!"

"You may not be the Kiku _I_ knew, but soon, you will be." Spoke the desperate whisper, "And I'll never let you go again; you'll be safe and sound in there- where no one can touch you. Nobody will hurt you."

"You're demented!" He screamed, biting his lip, "It's your own fault- why do others have to suffer?!"

A deep sigh was heard from the depths of hell, "Because I would do anything for your love."

"What you're getting back from the God's isn't going to be what you wanted! How many times do you want to go through it?!"

"I _am_ God!" He screeched, "I'll go through hell and back for you! Why aren't you happy about this?!" The only reply was the continuous sobs of the man before everything went into silence.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Spain opened his eyes with a groan, feeling the effects of a splitting headache, "What..." He murmured, looking around the area, "Where...?" The room was much more pristine than what he had seen earlier, it held white tones everywhere and not a single speck of dust- this had to be the cleanest restroom he had ever seen in his life.

"A-Antonio...?" Called out a soft voice, "Antonio!"

Turning to look at the source of the voice, the Spanish nation swore he could feel his heart rip out of his chest, "L-Lovi...?"

The small Italian looked as if in anguish, his hazel eyes losing their hue; the blood splattered along his face and chest was amplified by the unclouded cleanliness of the room. Lovino was sporting bruises and cuts along his jaw and arms, his clothes replaced by a white sheet that could be transparent, if only the blood didn't make it impossible to see if there was even a body under there.

"Stop the chatter." Whispered a new found entity in the room. Feliciano glared over at Spain, before walking closely to his brother and stroking his face, "...Are you alright, fratello?" He asked with a worried tone, seeming genuinely concerned for the others well being.

"Feli what-" Antonio seemed puzzled by what was going on, he could not even remember what happened or how he got here.

"Shut up!" He hissed, glowering over at the Spaniard, "I don't like you! You're a temptation that doesn't deserve to exist!" He screeched, "You don't deserve someone like my brother, you monster!" Shouted Feliciano, clearly enraged at the man for no known reason, "I don't understand how he could renounce his holy position for a damned one."

Antonio was baffled and spoke again, "What are you talking about?!"

"Be happy you're not the third sacrifice...you get to watch my beloved brother die- that should be torture enough." He smiled savagely, the grin not allowing a single ounce of mercy to escape.

"What?" Asked the Spanish brunette, "...You can't! No, Feliciano! Please!" He screamed, fighting against the restraints that held him back.

Feliciano sighed sadly, "Well...if you didn't want this to happen- why did you come here?" He hissed, "You could have kept him safe and sound at home, you figlio di puttana!" He saw the other about to speak and growled at him, "_Don't talk_."

Antonio kept his mouth shut, staring at Lovino, unsure what to do as he struggled against the bonds that held his arms and legs together.

The shorter Italian smiled at the golden and silver knives in his hands, stroking his brother's face with a silver on and tracing the golden on across his chest, "Don't worry, fratello...I'll make sure you're safe." Feliciano went over to a goblet and dipped his hands in, kissing them as he want over to his brother, tracing out a cross over his head, heart and shoulders, "May you rest safely in Sanctuary."

With that both brothers began to glow strange, iridescent colors. North Italy whispered a quiet, "I'm sorry." Before slitting his bothers throat as to not hear the cries of pain, and then stabbing him directly in the heart, ending any sort of pulsing life that went through him; blood soaking through the white garment and splattering onto the floor. With that, Romano was released of the restraints and released onto the floor, but instead of laying there, his body seemed to disintegrate into gold powder.

Antonio sobbed loudly, biting his lip to keep from screaming, but the tears that ran down his face shouted loudly at what had just happened, "Why?!" He screamed at the mourning Italian, who was now angered at the others question, "He's your brother!"

"I told you to shut-" Began Feliciano, before he was interrupted by the Spaniard.

"No, you shut up!" He shouted, "He was your brother!" Sobbed Spain, "Why would you do this?!" He hissed again, forcing his arms against the restraints, feeling them loosen up at how much he fought against them, "Asesino!" Antonio shrieked, "Eres un asesino!" That's when the metal shackles that held him against the wall broke, allowing him free to run at Feliciano.

Without much time to think, Feliciano grasped at one of the knives, covered in his brothers blood, but before he could look back up, Antonio already grabbed the Italian's hand and stabbed the knife through a shocked Feliciano's chest. There was an overwhelming pain that surrounded his heart as it was impaled with a holy object, Spain not caring as he drove the knife in deeper into the blood soaked man.

Not thinking, the Italian only stared at the man, his eyes quickly turning an intense ruby red, mouth hooked into a snarl as he glared at the man. Taking hold of the knife, Feliciano painfully pulled it out, beginning to smile at the others shocked expression, _"...You thought I would let my precious messenger die?" _Hissed a more sinister voice, fully taking out the knife and now clutching the Spaniard's wrist to avoid an escape. The smaller male then proceeded to shove the knife straight through Antonio's throat; but did not kill him.

"I mean it when I tell you to _shut up-_" Spoke Feliciano, his eyes reverting back to that sweet honey color, "And stay there!" The Spanish country was suddenly shoved back into the wall, shackles now merging with the wall and locking his wrists tightly against them. Smirking, the other spoke, "I'll be back for you later."

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Germany looked behind him once more, the footsteps had not stopped, instead they had gotten louder; and whatever was following was really starting to make him panic.

"Luddy...I'm scared." Whispered a voice, inching closer to his ear as he felt it's chilling breath on his neck, "..._I'm scared, and so very cold_." It cried lightly.

Ludwig had no idea where to look, there was no one there but the footsteps that trekked through the ash, "...Why are you cold?" He asked back.

For a moment there was no noise but the silence of falling snow, then he heard them- the church bells ringing loudly through the town. The darkness that loomed over the area slowly began to vanish, the blond nation's sight returning to him; his first sight was the road he stood on and the second was the object he had been desperately looking for- the massive house of this supposed God.

He took silent steps towards the church, hearing divine music to his ears in the distance, possibly from inside the shattered and broken church. It may have looked barren of any life, but now he was sure he could hear the soft sounds of a human voice...a very familiar human voice, "Feliciano." He mustered under his breath, so quiet he couldn't even hear it.

Nothing was surrounding him in this void but the simple harmony of prayers inside the structure, "...Why are you cold?" He asked himself again, mind curiously controlling his body to move forward.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

There was a soft click from a gun as someone's calloused fingers flipped the safety back on, the weapon being slowly brought back to a certain American's pocket. He was breathing roughly, breath coming out in forced pants as he willed himself to breathe in the stench of rotting flesh hanging limp above him.

He had killed them.

Now he was smiling, a small, nervous, frightened chuckle escaping his lips as his back hit the wall behind him and slowly slid down to the floor, "...I hate this..." He whimpered, chest heaving with dry sobs, "...I hate this." Breathed Alfred, his breakdown finally starting to catch up with him; his mind was beginning to feel more fragile than it was before, he was worried it would disappear.

"Kiku...Kiku save me." He wept silently, "I can't handle it- I don't know where to go, I don't know what I'm doing...I'm lost. What can I do?" The feeling of being truly alone in a cruel world was overbearing, "I feel no remorse for killing those things; I'm not sure if that's good or bad...but I just want to get out of here."

_'Why is everything suddenly crashing down on me right now? How did my mind not process this sooner?' _He thought, taking a moment to go over everything.

Then he did something he never thought he would have done.

Alfred reached for his gun, gently pulling it out and flicking the safety off.

_He was going to do this, he was going to get out of this._

The gun seemed to drive itself over to his temple as his index finger hesitated over the trigger.

_Soon he wouldn't have to suffer, he would lay in sweet death's hands, there would be no more...anything._

A tear slid down his cheek as he began to terrorize himself, _'What the hell am I doing?! What the hell am I doing?!'_

_Complete freedom_.

"I don't want this! I don't want this!" He screamed, "**Please stop!**" Ocean blue eyes were absolutely terrified, they didn't even relax once the gun went down to the floor and accidentally discharged into the white padded walls. Alfred was left clutching his hair in a small fit of anxiety that overcame his body, _'What the fuck was I doing?!'_ He screamed to himself in his mind.

He looked around the room, trying to get his mind off of the situation at hand when he suddenly spotted a peculiar set of eyes across from him, blank and uncaring, as if they had not seen him there.

Alfred was quiet, he did not dare make a noise once he realized that figure was him, repeating his exact movements with a monotone expression.

"Coward." It hissed, features now holding a deep hatred, "...How could I do it...and not you?" He asked, tracing delicately over the bullet wound in his temple, "...You coward." It whispered again, now slowly fading into the wall once more; where behind it was revealed a bloodied message.

Alfred could only stare at the spot, he had almost gotten himself killed again, that thing was controlling what he did and almost made him commit suicide. Eventually, he found the strength to get on his knees and crawl towards the wall with the inscribed message.

_Patient no. 6214_

_You're in my room...why are you in my room?_

_Why do you waste precious seconds reading my words?_

_Am I really that important to you?_

_...Then I guess I am sorry._

_After my wife had died, and my children had gotten murdered, I guess..._

_I couldn't take it._

_They were the only thing I had...my only hope in this world._

_When I tried to take my own life, something saved me..._

_I don't know what it was or why it did it, but it saved me._

_That's when I found myself in this exact same room as the one you're in right now._

_With a gun in my hand and my wife and children bleeding on the floor._

_I couldn't handle it...I brought it to my head...and I-_

That's where the message ended, and the door behind Alfred opened again to allow him his freedom. Yet for some odd reason after reading that...he felt a strong sense of dread and guilt.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Buildings were shattered into pieces and the roads smashed into oblivion, it reminded him of war times with how wrecked everything was. Hands grasped at the windows lock and unlatched it so he could open and slide through it to the dead world below, his mind deemed the building he was currently residing in too unsafe.

When his boots slammed against the ground he realized how truly empty the place was- the drop echoed for a distance in the unreal world he was in, "...What is going on...?" He gulped, beginning to walk away and pick up a light jog, "I have to find the others, where could they have gone?" He questioned, deciding with a good judgment that he should not head deeply into the town, and instead away from it. There was just something odd about it; giving off a dark vibe.

The time here seemed to have no end, he was running for what he knew was an hour, barely exiting the city and wandering past the forest to the heights of a staircase that must have led to the town's entrance or beginning. As soon as he reached the top he was corrected, it was a parking area for new comers who wanted to view the lake below.

"This is...where it showed me..." He whispered, remembering the small island at the center of the lake. He could finally help Alfred.

First he looked around to see if the map was still there; and indeed it was. "I just need to find a weapon." He murmured, "There could be more of those things." He spoke about the earlier sighting of that strange monster, it was obviously not friendly, and if he wanted to save Alfred from whatever hell he was in, he would have to go armed.

But before he could move he heard something- something that flew overhead and zoomed down on the town.

Looking up, the sky suddenly turned to day, planes flying overhead, carrying projectile weapons and bombs towards- "...London..." He whispered, chest heaving as he watched the event unfold again, a hand went to clutch at his heart, remembering the pain. "Not again..." He shook his head, "NO!" Then the massacre began.

Sirens went off as bombs exploded, knocking down buildings and destroying homes of now torn families who may or may not survive.

Arthur couldn't watch and closed his eyes, only to find everything quiet once again, yet when he opened them the war was still going on, bringing painful tears to his eyes, "...Not again..." He closed his eyes and willed himself to be strong about this; this was not currently happening...this was an illusion, the war already ended. Nothing is there.

"I'm not stupid." He hissed, opening his eyes to find the city sitting calmly below him, "I won't fall for what you have in mind. I'm not weak, and I'm certainly not going to give up."

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Antonio stared at the area where Romano had died, trying to make sense of the situation, but no matter what he tried; nothing ever came to mind. He had not even realized the ground where the others blood had touched was slowly rotting away, turning a worrisome shade of gray and staining the pristine room with black scars that marred the floor.

He wasn't sure if he was in shock or just slowly processing this event. Was it a nightmare or a horrid hallucination? Antonio couldn't make a feeling form this; it felt cold and empty, yet distressing and vivid- this memory was one he would certainly not be able to erase any time soon...he was only hoping Feliciano would come back quickly...so he could be with Romano.

It seemed as if God hated him as well...or loved him; at that moment the door swung open, a young man clad in white walked in again, knives now clean in his left hand and a bible clutched tightly with his right. The Italian smiled widely, "Are you ready now, Antonio? I understand it's only been an hour, but I don't want you doing anything stupid...so might as well kill you now."

"Por qué estás haciendo esto, Italia?" He whispered, his voice barely audible, "Por favor, envíame a Dios...al lado de su hermano."

"...I can't grant you your wish deceiver. A sin has no place in heaven; but you will be sent to God, and he will take care of you." Spoke Feliciano, walking slowly towards the man, "I thought you would have surely put up a fight." He sneered, lifting the others chin and tracing a knife along his lips, "How much do you love my brother?"

Antonio stayed silent, "...Is this why you hate me so suddenly? Because you're brother loves me more than he would ever love you?" He hissed back, the glare now intense and scalding.

"You only deceived him to join your...group of sin incarnates." As he stated this he frowned darkly, "You lead one of God's children astray from the path of the righteous, for that you must be punished." Italy leaned down and kissed the other roughly, "Tell me you love me too." He hissed, "Lie to me just like you lied to my brother!"

"Never." Antonio spoke back loudly, eyes greener than jewels screamed loudly with a hatred, "Te odio! Pudre en el infierno!"

Offended, the reddish-brown haired messenger pulled himself away and grasped at a nearby bludgeon.

The room was now being stained by various splatters of gray and black impurities.

Stretching his arm back, Feliciano quickly brought it forth, smashing the large and heavy object against his former caretakers head; the sound of a skull cracking and bones crunching beneath the sheer force of the club would make any sane humans insides churn in horror. There was one final pop of the bones as the head plopped to the ground, the wall and floor now stained with bright ruby blood.

The only sound in the room was heavy panting from the only person alive in the room, who wore a great smile on his face as if he had just won a trophy. Which in a twisted sense, he felt like he did. Dragging the body over to the mirror was rather disgusting due to the large amount of blood that now streaked across the floor and stained the headless body.

But it did not aggravate the demented man as he dropped the body to the floor and reached over to the bible, grasping at its pages with bloodied hands that varnished the holy book whilst he held it to his chest, "Dio...let this man die in your hands as severely as he did in mine." Once those words were spoken, the mirror gave away a light glow and eventually consumed the room with its presence.

"Feli...thank you for punishing him so gravely..." Spoke the usual voice behind the luminescence, "...Hand him over to the hand of God." He said, beckoning the other to push Antonio towards the mirror so the pearly white hands could grab the body it so desperately desired, "Close your eyes, Feliciano."

The cycle repeated again.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Sky blue eyes stared up at the giant doors of the church structure, they seemed endless, the whole building looked like a castle- and he was sure that if it could reach it's full height it would be grazing the clouds above...or was it just smog?

Pale hands didn't ponder on it for long as they pushed greatly on the enormous doors, opening them very slightly; how could anyone come visit this church if the doors were so heavy? Maybe they used to always stay open, and only closed on certain occasions or times. There was the possibility that when this entire town was abandoned they closed the church doors.

'...The people closed these doors so the sin of the world wouldn't come in. This church was built by and for the members of The Olace.'

Ludwig waited a few moments before answering to the usually cruel voice, "...Do you know anything else?"

'We worship God on twelve floors.' Was all it said when the doors miraculously opened wide to allow entry to the man and voice.

"How did you do that?" He asked again, only to receive no answer from the voice. Then he took the steps and walked inside the massive building, finding it to be beautifully decorated on the inside, still very functional and as pristine as it would have been at its prime.

The windows were etched with brightly colored stories of the town's old history, some told of the many prophecies, others of what was to come. Then there was the main mural at the center of the building of a figure draped in dark robes with their face broken off. The man had his arms spread out at the town below him, people that were begging- for what? He did not know.

The sky was dark and barely lit the deprived town; on the streets and sides of buildings there were dead bodies and many indications of religion and death. As he stepped closer he could see more detail, and a stone tablet at the bottom, surrounded with still lit and fresh candles- wait a moment.

"...These are newly lit." He spoke dumbly, "There's got to be someone here." He decided to postpone that thought as he inched closer to the stone tabled and read it's contents, or at least tried to. IT was in a different language that he had no knowledge of, but from what he saw it seemed to be many languages mixed as one.

"Who are you...?" Asked a stranger that came behind the German nation, who turned around swiftly.

"...I should ask you the same."

The stranger grimaced and pulled their hood down for a perfect view of their face, pulling his ponytail out he said, "...My name is Yao...Wang, Yao. Now tell me, who are you?"

It took the German nation a moment to soak this new found information, "I'm Ludwig...how did you get here, Yao?"

The other posture differed slightly as he took a closer look, "...So you finally came here. I was brought to Sanctuary by the hand of God." His tone was monotone and completely void of emotion, he appeared to act as if it was scripted.

Ludwig ignored that detail and continued to speak, "...What do you mean God brought you here?"

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Arthur had followed the map all the way to the lakeside, watching as the water stayed completely still and as silent as the rest of the fog ridden town. With a hand he reached down and flicked at the water, watching as the liquid finally rippled. The steady wave was sent across the entire section of the lake and there was no reaction but the breeze blowing through his golden locks.

Staring out into the distance of the vast body of water, the only thing he could see was fog, and nothingness. There has to be an island at the center, he saw it in his vision, it was where Alfred had gone to resurrect the Japanese nation. This fog was clearly hiding something from him, growing thicker and thicker around him, making the air hard to breathe.

A gentle hum resounded in his ear as he began walking from his spot, heading into the forests clutches once more; the tune had gotten louder and louder as he wandered through the abandoned trees that nearly engulfed the sky above it and darkening the soil below it.

"I will find you Alfred. I swear on my life I will find you." He whispered, scouting the area around him, simply exploring this unknown side of town. It was not that he was putting it off, Arthur just wanted to make sure he was prepared to deal with whatever creatures resided in this hell without a weapon. Surely once he explored deeper he would find something. But for now he was at God's mercy.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I am so sorry how long I've been gone, I have been going through very serious issues and it had stalled me and my writing, hopefully you enjoy this chapter.

Sanctuary

Chapter 11

"God." Whispered Yao, staring profoundly at the German, who stayed silenced in a slight haze before it dissipated and he was left with the others slow response, "I have been reborn into Sanctuary, contained in this church to atone for the sins in my...past life I should say?" The Chinese man near whispered as he stood below the giant mural of a faceless God, "What brings you here, Ludwig?"

Seeing as the other man was not going to give him an answer not pertaining to God he stated, "...I was lost. I don't understand how I got here, or why I am here, but the town-" He pointed towards the door, "-there's something wrong with it. There are these...creatures. I made it here in hopes it would be safe, free of anything out to get me." He watched Yao nod in understanding, "How is this place not infested?" He asked.

There was complete silence for a moment, the church becoming slightly darker with the clouded sky outside, "It is a safe haven for us." He muttered barely above his breath, "A safe place from the demons...they are those who have fallen from the path of the righteous...led a life of sin, those who did not heed God's warning. Those who did not believe, cannot enter. This house of prayer is meant only for those who seek refuge, and those of us who were given a chance to repent. The church has fourteen floors on which you pray to God."

All was silent once more, the only sound being a skillful harp playing in the distance a very eerie tune.

"...Lovino is signaling a bad omen, we must hide."

"I thought you said nothing can enter this place!" Hissed Ludwig, a frantic look on his features.

Yao stared at him, "Not from them, from _him_." Before scurrying, motioning a hand to follow him.

Germany ran after the man, who seemed to disappear from view down the stairs very quickly, "Wait! Who's '_him_' supposed to be?!" He came to a slow halt upon receiving no answer in the depths of the spiral staircase. He wasn't quite sure where to go, but he quickly stood quiet again, trying to listen for footsteps, but the only thing in the distance was the majestic tune of the harp. Why not give that a try? He rushed quickly to the source, trying to run down the stairs- why are there 14 floors dug into the earth anyway? The harp grew closer and louder as he ran down in spirals leading him deeper into sanctuary. Eventually he halted before a large set of double doors between the thirteenth and fourteenth floors; it held a small peep hole through where the man could look into the room. He looked around him quickly to make sure no one would see him snooping and lowered his vision upon the glass, but refrained once he heard-

"Don't look."

The blond turned so quickly his eyes had to take a moment to adjust to the man before him, "Oh- Yao...d-don't scare me like that." He breathed a sigh of relief and placed a hand over his chest, "...I- I just lost you and couldn't see you so I followed the harp."

"Whenever you hear instruments or singing- don't go towards it. Lovino plays music and Feliciano sings it." He whispered, pulling the German from the sleeve away from the door, "And if you ever hear a harmony of voices- run away from it." He hissed even lower beneath his breath, "...It's Kiku." Yao moved closer to Ludwig's ear and barely managed a whisper of, "_He knows where you are._"

They had slowly made their way to the bottom floor, Yao allowing small talk along the corridors and stairs of the infrastructure, "Floor 14, it is for those overindulging or even committing an act of lust or sexual intercourse. Allowing yourself to be swayed by the demons is a great sin, and those who make the crime must be severely punished; for sexual intercourse is something made not for pleasure, but for life. It is unacceptable to use it and label it 'love'."

Germany nodded along to the others words, "But how do you know who has had..." He coughed, "Um, sex?"

"God sees everything. Kiku has all the knowledge God could possibly offer. Feliciano fetches those who God deems evil or who have committed some form of sacrilege." With that Yao ended his sentence and left, walking up to the next floor, but not without sparing a long glance to the giant double-doors of the harp player which Germany assumed resided Southern Italy.

"Floor 13, those who experience and refuse to let go of sadness, depression, or the inability to feel joy." He traced a finger over the door and promptly continued walking, "In order to move on from loss, we must feel happiness and bask in the joy's God has given us. We mustn't take life for granted, one never knows when things can suddenly...change."

"Floor 12, gluttons in life who care to only devour...and by 'devour' I do not mean they are fat, or like to eat, sir Ludwig." He stated, "I mean they like to take over, greedily feast upon something that is not theirs or they are not worthy of. This includes such things as conquering of either land, body, or mind." Yao stared at the man, "Let's move on."

Another stair case up and they stepped upon the next level, "Floor 11, those with extreme anger, rage, and hatred are kept here. These people are a danger to society and basic everyday life. People must understand that wrath is not a normal emotion and is far from a good mood. God strives for people who have good thoughts, not corrupt minded people."

This time both skipped two levels, Yao turned, "The last two levels were envy and greed, the envious were greedy and the greedy were envious, most are surrounded by what they want, if they choose the right path they move onto Floor 8." Yao led Germany away from the door and made him follow the next staircase up to the higher floor, where Yao pointed at the door, "This is pride. God does not mean that it is a bad thing to have...but simply that if you were to have pride, it would be a false happiness. Therefore it is bad, especially in large quantities- people seem to get cocky once they get it into their egotistical minds that they are better than others."

The door was left behind and they walked to the next zone, yet skipped all of the doors, "Rooms 7-1 are in order of abstinence or purity from any sin, they go up in order of greatness- but very few people ever make it here; so they are currently empty."

The German man's eyes widened, "There's no one? At all?"

Yao paused for a moment in his haste to get upstairs, "...There's one person on the fourth floor, his name is Ivan Braginski- currently undergoing a virtue of patience. He will soon be on his way to meet God and be granted a true life." He smiled, "I hope all is well for that man." He continued to lead the blue eyed man up the staircase, "Hurry, you don't want to be left behind do you?"

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Arthur took nearly two hours to simply go through the large forest and into the town's entrance, where he found only a dirt road trailing through an abandoned area on the outskirts of the town, "..." There was only silence, it made him deeply uncomfortable to be stranded in such a desolate place but...he had no choice, now did he? Pulling out his map, the man glanced through it to see where exactly he was located, humming in approval, "Sanctuary's ranch, hm?" His sights were set on the small farmhouse and winery in the distance, "I ran into my stroke of luck, hopefully there's something of use in there. It seems safer than the city."

Trekking along the road his ears picked up a sound coming from behind him, unsure of what it was he turned and nearly had a heart attack. Emerald green eyes were set on the small, fragile form of a starving boy who looked _identical_ to America, "A-Alfred...?" He whispered with a raw throat; ingesting all of that fluttering ash was not a good thing.

The boy quickly looked up, scared blue eyes beginning to retreat into the abyss of the forest, "...Arthur?"

"Alfred!" Screamed the Brit, beginning to backtrack and run at he helpless boy, who quickly ran into the woods like a frightened bird, "Wait, Alfred come back!" He screamed, reaching out to the other, but swiftly retracting his hand as if it had been burned once he saw the creature dwelling within the darkness of the trees.

It stared at him with gouged out eyes and a smile stitched together from hell. Long, bony arms made a 'follow me' gesture, hunched back arching in such an inhuman and broken way it made the blond want to vomit. It had a rat's tail and legs that bent like an animal's, but broken and mangled, flashing the bones and ligaments to viewers. The creature stepped forward, mimicking the footsteps Arthur could have _sworn_ were his, and inching closer to the edge of the woods where Arthur was.

Without a second thought the blond bolted out of there, scared to find out if that thing could chase him or not, all he could feel was the cold rush of the adrenaline through his veins like crawling spiders itching to come out of his throat. He was running so fast, he wasn't sure if he was breathing. Quickly coming to a halt before the small, run-down house, he looked back to see the creature at the edge where it stood before. Just _staring_.

"Dear Lord..." He didn't even want to look at that thing.

He turned back to the house and walked in through the slightly ajar door. Taking in his surroundings, he wondered why the room was a complete wreck; furniture was thrown in every which direction, glass shattered on the floor, the only thing left standing was a large grandfather clock, balefully ticking away, each tick louder and deeper than the last. Ignoring this, the man walked onto the stairs which creaked at every step he took-

_CRASH_.

"Oomph!"

Then everything went still, "...Bloody hell!" Shouted the now irate man who had fallen through a step and into the bottom of the hollow staircase, "Stupid, damned thing!" He cursed, clutching his throbbing head- he had hit his head when falling and now sported a thunderous headache. Damn this town, it only served to make him angry at such an inappropriate time. Without a further word he shakily stood on his possibly now bruised legs and looked up to see if he could somehow escape the stairs 'belly'.

He then realized he had fallen a lot farther than he thought, for the hole in the stairs was now but the size of his hand and higher than the ground floor. He must be underneath the first floor then. "That's dangerous...who would've built this place so stupidly?" He cringed, continuing to hold the bump on his cranium whilst walking in the direction of a faint light he hadn't seen before. The closer he got, he realized this was not even a real light, it was simply the glimmer of freshly spilled...blood.

"What..." He hesitated to move forward, fearing the worst, but did so anyway, following the puddle of blood for as long as it went, only to find it ended at the tip of a bloodied machete, "...I'm not sure if this is good luck or bad luck." He murmured, grasping the handle of the blade, blood was nothing new to his hands, and it wasn't very bothersome. Now he just had to find a way to get out.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

After walking away from that cell with nothing but a restored sense of sanity, Alfred felt changed, much better, but _changed_. Like he wasn't the exact same person as before. Now he had to continue on his quest, try to find Kiku, and if lucky, others who were here like him. He honestly didn't know where to go, or what was going on most of the time, but eventually he'll find something out, right?

Going out into the large expanse of the building, he eventually ran into a much needed elevator, "Oh!" He exclaimed happily through the semi-darkened corridor as he rummaged around through his baggage to see If the key was there, but remembered he had placed it in his pocket and pulled it out, "Here we go, let's see if this thing actually works or not." He smiled, pressing the key in and watching the elevator's buttons begin to glow, "Yes!...Okay, this is good so far." He quickly pressed the button and waited for the elevator to reach his floor.

When it gave a wretched sounding 'ding', Alfred perked up, already wanting to see if he could go into any other floor or room but this one. He stepped in, picking the basement and almost as soon as the doors shut, immediately regretted it once he looked above him. There were thousands and _thousands_ of bugs manifesting the ceiling, eating a body, enshrouded in what looked like a web.

Now he couldn't wait to get out of the elevator.

Waiting patiently, he tried to control his breathing as the person's decayed body began to leave behind a horrid stench, almost making him wretch. When the elevator finally stopped at the basement, he ran out just in time to see the body fall from the web's clutches and stain the elevator floor with uneaten organs and a putrid scent of death.

He quickly ran down the steps, hesitating slightly when he saw the walls were simply fences holding back strange, almost orb-like shadows and storage. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He hissed, slamming the door behind him and patiently waiting for his stomach to settle. At least in this room he didn't need a flashlight, the bulb was working just fine. With a sigh, Alfred pushed himself off the door and towards the shelves lining a wall.

Inside the shelves were few things of use, such as batteries and an ampoule, even a small case of handgun shells. There was one other thing though; it was a small amulet of the cross and several intricate designs around it. For some odd reason, he couldn't help but feel as if it were drawing him in, and he of course, picked it up. A sudden rush of relief and wholeness suddenly went through him and he gave a relieved smile. He murmured something inaudible, then glanced at the trap door in the floor, "...Wonder where that leads to."

Long legs scuffled towards the door and opened it slightly, hoping to see something of importance, only to see an empty room with...was that a red envelope?

There was a small gulp of displease before the American climbed down, never taking his eyes off the scarlet letter. Slowly, his feet made their way across the room to the thing and picked it up, fearing it's nature. "...Here goes nothing." He said, before ripping open the letter and peering inside to see a small, folded note; he pulled it out and unfolded it, it's completely blank. He gave a long, drawn out exhale before feeling a sharp pain in his hands. Looking down he saw them wrapped with the paper, which was secreting a dark, inky substance that wrapped around his entire arms like veins, burning and scarring into them, "Oh God Oh my-" He screeched, trying to rid himself of the paper, only to find himself paralyzed from the arms and bleeding profusely at the scorched scars on his arms.

"Fucking shit!" He hissed as the feeling wrapped itself around his shoulders, squeezing down on them like two boulders, "Get off! Get off, get off, get off!" He cried out, feeling the tears stinging at his eyes from the pain. Then it all went to a completely different level when it started to leave behind a tearing sensation on his shoulders- it felt like, "Gah-!" He gasped, trying to watch as his tremor-filled body began to be torn apart from his arms, the skin that connected the joints on his arms was slowly tearing apart, revealing the nerves and bloodied bones beneath. By now he was sharply sucking in his breath, almost willing his body to forge into shock.

Everything else dimmed in importance, the pain slowly subsiding as the crippled body began to go limp in the tendrils' grasp. Alfred continued to heave shallow intakes of oxygen, eyes trying to stay open, blinking rapidly at the approaching darkness. He felt so close to death. If he were religious he would surely ask to be spared right about now. But the feeling continued until a deep chill forced his body into a series of convulsions; he could feel the breathtakingly horrifying perception of his heart giving in to the overwhelming amount of torture.

Although he would have preferred to live, his senses forced themselves to succumb to the unrelenting grip of unconsciousness.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

Alfred awoke with a jolt, mind crystal clear of the events as he rose from the dingy ground and hastily began to move toward the staircase up, "I have to get out." He murmured quickly, "Get out." He grasped onto the ladder and immediately pulled back when a tremendous shock coursed through the nerves of his hands. Alfred cursed silently and reached again, and when feeling no shock, began to climb up and onto the sturdy platform of the room above, where everything lay exactly as he had left it, cold and empty with nothing to truly give.

He stood and brushed off the dirt covering his pants before heading to the door once more only to realize it had changed in color and texture. It was no longer wooden and plain white, but a metallic black and covered in an awful smelling brown substance, which he could only suspect of it being feces of some sort of creature that he was unaware of encountering.

With an auditory gulp he pulled at the white collar of his shirt and aired out the sweat beginning to stick to his skin from the sheer anxiety that the door changed. He removed the comfortable brown jacket he wore and used it to push open the dirtied door as it had no handle. The door released a groan of protest at the actions upon it before ceasing once it was fully open, only to reveal the exact same staircase he had entered through.

The only real difference was that everything was clean and there were no orbs to be found, only the unsettling mood of complete silence.

The trip to the staircase was driven with need and an overwhelming sense of fear for which he had no reason, as he remained alone in the area...from what he could see. He didn't dare make a sound or even blink until he reached the top of the concrete staircase, yet he was still not alleviated of the fear, and once he blinked and heard a loud bang from inside the room he was in he immediately slammed open the door and closed it shut behind him.

This place will never cease to make him fearful.

He nearly sighed in relief until he heard the sound of footsteps fast approaching at him from his right, and he bolted away from his spot, running past doors and doors of a new and endless hallway surrounded by bulletin boards with vaccine posters pasted onto their cardboard surfaces. As he ran he couldn't help but notice how the steps that ran at him continued to increase in pace, inching on to him like a predator playing with its food.

Alfred took a chance to look back and try to catch a glimpse of whatever was following him.

"_Alfred, keep running._" _Whispered a voice in his head._

That he did, and he couldn't help but be relieved that he did not turn his head completely to look at the creature. Whatever it was continued to approach, until he managed to swerve a sharp right into an open door of a seemingly empty hospital room. He closed the door and listened intently as the creature ran along the straight path of the hallway to wherever the hell it was chasing him to.

He turned to look at the empty room and noticed how it was absolutely pristine, except for the small hospital bed, which lay doused in blood as the IV machines leaked the strangely fresh blood onto the darkened sheets. Even stranger was the fact that the heart monitor was pumping with life, a steady stream of beeps consumed the room even though the machines were not plugged into any sort of electrical source, or connected to anything else.

Even the air running through the vents wasn't putrid or smelling of corpses and rot.

Alfred nearly gasped when he realized he could possibly climb out of the hospital through the vents, but would it be safe? "This is the dumbest shit I'll ever try." He muttered, before deciding that it didn't necessarily matter as he still had that drink from before. A pale hand reached for the bottle and grabbed it from his jackets pocket, deciding to take a small sip of it before placing it within his pants pocket, alongside two ampoules.

The vents seemed innocent enough, running cool air through the cleanest facility in the entire hospital. With cautious steps Alfred leaned toward the vent, fingers scanning the bolts and edges of the metal covering, trying to pry it off somehow. Four tugs later and the cover came off with little noise.

Did he still have his flashlight?

Patting down his pockets he could find no trace of it, in a last attempt to reassure he had a source of light he checked his jacket. It was snuggled comfortably into his right hand pocket, which he proceeded to take out and point into the vent; it could only make out the first few meters and nothing more as it turned a corner.

Climbing in was a challenge, as it was located high on the wall- his hands could reach it, however the rest of his body had a harder time trying to scale the wall to reach the vent. Eventually he managed to fit his torso in, just in time as the machine began to change it's heart rhythm.

After fitting his entire body into the vent, he began to crawl with much difficulty due to the small amount of space.

Back in the room the machine began to flatline as he turned the corner. Alfred tried to arch his head back to see why it would do such a strange thing, however his body was already too far in for him to look back. Groaning in defeat, he turned back only to come face to face with something that nearly made him piss in fright.

It was monstrous to say the least, the jaw was hanging inhumanly open, rows upon rows of long sharpened teeth only a few inches from Alfred's face.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

_'Our Father who art in heaven,_ _hallowed be thy name._ _Thy kingdom come._ _Thy will be done_ _on earth as it is in heaven._ _Give us this day our daily bread,_ _and forgive us our trespasses,_ _as we forgive those who trespass against us,_ _and lead us not into temptation,_ _but deliver us from evil. '_

Pale, bony hands came up to motion the sign of the cross, slowly but surely, shaking lightly with the movements. Feliciano's fingers came up to his lips where he kissed them before uttering a simple, "Amen." He smiled, lips cracked and dehydrated. It's been a few weeks since he's left the room, he hasn't even looked at any form of nourishment since he found the golden bible, the answer to all his problems. It's almost like he wasn't a physical being anymore, he could feel himself becoming more like his true self...just...beyond that mirror.

Beyond that mirror was perfection.

And he was close to being perfect; he just needed two more sacrifices.

He began to pace about the room, legs moving forth in long, uncertain strides, simply walking in circles around the pristine bathroom. His eyes were unseeing, simply staring out into nothing as he came to a sudden halt, head turning sharply to the mirror his other self was usually at; he ran towards it, hands gripping the edges of the slightly uneven sink, staring endlessly into his reflection.

"I need two more sacrifices...I haven't heard from you in at least two weeks..." He began, voice slightly higher than usual, "Please...Please tell me something!" He yelled, hands shooting up to press against the mirror, "Have I done something wrong?! Talk to me! I'll do anything, please just..." His throat constricted with a gulp, "Just tell me if I've made a mistake. Does God still love me? Is he upset with me?" There was still no answer and Feliciano was almost at his wit's end, there has been nothing but constant prayer for his missing guide and god yet neither would show; they would not utter even a word.

The silence was maddening.

Perhaps this was a punishment from God.

Yet he could not make sense of this, he's followed everything so perfectly, so why would he be punished? Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps not. He scanned the room, noticing something quite strange; the entire room seemed different, almost as if it were covered by a translucent, slightly dirtied paper that would fade in and out of existence. The image would show a different room, even though he could clearly see the room around him as being clean. God help him, was he going insane? What in the world is happening? He needed to leave this room, every second he lingered he could feel something clawing at the inside of his head, and it was incredibly disturbing. There was a second of hesitation as he glanced at the mirror before bolting from the room, slamming the door open so loudly it resonated through the halls with a loud slam against the wall as he fled the area.

However, the second he stepped foot outside the room, he was once more within the mirror clad bathroom. He turned back to look into the previous room, only to find it pitch black, as if there was no image to be seen, "Dio mio, aiutami"

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The space he resided within was drenched in complete darkness, so absolute he couldn't see his own hands in front of his face. He had no idea where he was or why. The events beforehand were foggy and inaccurate at best. His hands reached out to try and decipher where in the hell he was, since he was basically being deprived of sensory, unable to see or hear his surroundings he could only smell the unintelligible scent of something akin to meat. His fingers draped as far as they could over the ground, feeling only concrete and possibly dirt; he was probably locked in a closet or small unfinished room.

Who did this to him? Why was he here?

The last thing he remembered was...fucking hell he can't even think, everything is strange, like his memory has been changed in some way. There's something he's missing, something important and he can't remember.

What is he forgetting? Why can't he remember?!

He tried standing, pushing himself up by his hands, legs shaking at their sudden use, almost collapsing beneath him as he forced himself to stand. He leaned against the wall, stroking it, revealing it to be made of the same strange concrete-like material from the floor. Lanky legs moved forward, bending awkwardly as if they hadn't been used for a while, "I need to get out." He whispered silently as he searched along the walls for anything even resembling a door, hopefully he would be out of here soon; this situation didn't feel right to him and it would probably be best to leave as quickly as he could, before whoever put him here came back.

Lithe fingers skimmed over something that felt unnatural, certainly not concrete...more like...wood?

It's a door.

He quickly searched along its frame for any sort of handle, only gaining splinters underneath his nails and a slowly diminishing hope for getting out. He could only feel where the handle would have been were it not removed; this door could only be opened from the outside. Hasn't anyone realized he's missing? Sure, not many people like him but there should be at least one person who would surely notice.

The longer he stayed inside the more uneasy he felt, almost as if something was going to snatch him, or as if something was with him in the room. Yet he couldn't hear a single sound within the room, and surely the noise he was making would have stirred it, wouldn't it have?

Why the hell couldn't he remember?! What the hell is even happening?!

It's not like he had amnesia, he could remember his brother, his friends, his name. Yet the blank spot in his memory was only bothering him the longer he thought about it, it's nearly impossible for a nation to forget an event, especially one that could've landed him in this possibly dangerous situation. He was missing something, he was sure of it.

"I am a nation, I have a brother, I am twenty-three, and my name is Lovino Vargas." He whispered under his breath.

'-..::~::..(Sanctuary)..::~::..- '

The room he had fallen through was unkempt, dust speckled everywhere, almost like snow yet darker, sullying everything it touched. Arthur walked forth with his machete, ready to swing at anything that came at him. Luckily there seemed to be a door, large and red, possibly an exit of some sort, he hoped. With that thought in mind he stepped closer to the door, inspecting it just to be safe. One hand gripped the handle while the other held the machete high.

He carefully opened the door, slowly at first before pulling it open the rest of the way.

There were stairs leading to another door, a simple, white door. Arthur was relieved to say the least, no bullshit to go around and just a solid exit to continue on his way. He clambered up the stairs quickly, reaching up and opening the exit door without a moments hesitation. The outside greeted him with the smell of ashes and smoke, buildings torn down to hell and nature reclaiming what once was hers. The streets were barren, not a single life to be seen, it was almost unsettling yet mostly a relief; he had no doubts that any life here would not be friendly.

Closing the door behind him, he began to walk, spotting on his way several shops and houses, leading him to believe this was a shopping district that branched into small neighborhood sections. How did he get here so quickly from the outskirts of town? Looking back toward the door he just exited, he was surprised to find no door, nor any indication he even took a step through the thick ashes littering the ground.

The blond sighed in mild discomfort, there was definitely something strange, something above his power here. He got the feeling he was being...watched.

Perhaps it would be better if he retreated into one of the nearby shops.

Stocky legs lightly jogged over to the sidewalk, peering through the glass into the stores. One was a quaint barber shop, another a restaurant, while the third he passed by was a convenience store, however they all seemed to be locked and he wasn't one to break in and enter. Instead he chose to continue walking toward a set of automatic doors, he glanced up at the header above the doors and raised his brows in surprise: it was a shopping center.


End file.
